Viktor Vekselberg
After building up a US$15 billion fortune pumping oil, Viktor Vekselberg is turning to solar in his attempt to win a place in history.
The Russian tycoon and his Renova Group plan a record-breaking effort to send a plane around the world non-stop using only the power of the Sun. If all goes well, a single pilot will fly for five days straight at altitudes of up to 10 miles, about a third higher than commercial airliners.
The glider-style airplane with a 36-metre wingspan will be a test of technologies that are set to be used to build new generations of autonomous craft for the military and business, say aerospace experts. These will fly continuously, have far greater reach and control than satellites and expand broadcast, communication and spying capabilities around the globe.
Previous attempts have used multiple flights. Switzerland's Solar Impulse, with partners including Google, Dassault Aviation and ABB, made 17 stops to complete its globetrotting trip last year.
In April, Mr Vekselberg vowed to the Russian president Vladimir Putin to get the job done.
Renova’s plane will use so-called supercapacitors, effectively extremely efficient batteries, to drive its propellers and store power generated from solar panels mounted on the top and underside of the aircraft. The panels will draw on direct and diffused light, allowing them to suck in energy straight from the Sun and from rays reflected back up from the clouds.
At night, the airplane will conserve power by gliding down from high altitudes before climbing again when the Sun is up.
The zeal for aerospace is growing among investors such as Richard Branson, with his Virgin Galactica, and Elon Musk with his Space Exploration Technologies, as scientific advances turn flights of fancy into commercial propositions.
Mr Vekselberg, who became Russia’s fourth-richest man through oil and metals, has expanded into tech since selling out of crude in 2012, with investments including a joint venture solar maker and power producer. He is invested in OC Oerlikon, which is involved in making solar equipment products.
Carlos Slim
Giant Motors, an carmaker partially owned by the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, is working on a prototype electric taxi to replace the petrol-guzzling cabs polluting Mexico City’s air.
Giant has partnered with electric vehicle maker Moldex, a unit of Mexican breadmaker Grupo Bimbo, and four Mexican universities to produce the environmentally friendly car that will eventually replace part of Mexico City’s more than 130,000 registered cabs, said Elias Massri, the chief executive of Giant Motors Latinoamerica.
A thick haze periodically descends on Mexico City, irritating eyes and throats and prompting authorities to issue health warnings and force cars off the streets. Air quality in Mexico City, home to an estimated 5.4 million vehicles, has been particularly poor in recent weeks.
Over the last few years Giant Motors and Moldex have developed and sold 500 light-weight, electric cargo trucks capable of handling up to a one tonne loads. Mr Massri said the experience has given them a platform for the taxi project.
Mr Slim’s Grupo Financiero Inbursa has a 50 per cent stake in Giant Motors.
Robert Bass
The American billionaire Robert Bass’s dream of building a private supersonic jet is poised to get a boost from one of the world’s top engine makers – General Electric (GE).
Aerion Corp has been in talks with GE to power what could be the first nonmilitary plane to fly faster than the speed of sound since Concorde flights were halted in 2003, according to a statement last month by the Bass-backed aircraft start-up.
The discussions represent a step towards resolving a major obstacle in Aerion’s plan to develop a jet that could shave three hours off trans-Atlantic trips – and shorten flights across the Pacific by six. Aerion, which already has a committed buyer for its AS2 plane, has been working with engine manufacturers to meet noise restrictions and fly economically at speeds slower and faster than the sound barrier.
Aerion’s effort to build a supersonic business jet gained momentum in 2014, when Airbus agreed to help design and produce the plane. The following year Flexjet, a fractional-jet ownership company, placed an order for 20 AS2 aircraft.
Aerion envisions a plane that will fly at a top speed of Mach 1.5, or 1.5 times the speed of sound, over water while staying just under the sound barrier when over land to avoid sonic booms.
Aerion’s challenge is to sell enough of the AS2 aircraft to offset the investment required to develop costly components, with the engine being the most expensive. The list price of the plane is $120 million.
Mr Bass has a net worth estimated at $4bn. He made his money first from the family oil business (in the words of Forbes, his brothers and he "inherited a small fortune … and built it into a big one") and then by diversifying into other sectors.
Li Shufu
The Chinese billionaire Li Shufu is buying Malaysia’s unprofitable national carmaker Proton Holdings pretty much for two reasons: access to 600 million consumers in South East Asia and the brand cachet of Lotus Cars.
Mr Li’s Zhejiang Geely, which also owns the upscale Sweden-based Volvo Cars, said last month that it will buy 49.9 per cent of Proton and a 51 per cent stake in Lotus Cars.
By investing in the Malaysian auto group, Mr Li is betting he will gain an inroad into South East Asia, a region with an expanding middle class that the Chinese government is also investing in as part of its “Belt and Road” infrastructure-development initiative.
For Geely, Lotus would be a prestigious addition. Under Proton, the British marque lacked the scale or investment needed to make it into a global sports brand, something that could change as part of a broader Volvo-Geely group.
Mr Li started out making refrigerator parts and turned a bankrupt state-owned manufacturer into China’s biggest privately owned carmaker. He cemented his reputation as a savvy dealmaker after he revived Volvo Cars in the face of widespread industry scepticism following its acquisition from Ford Motor in 2010. Proton has two factories, including an underutilised plant in Tanjung Malim in Malaysia capable of making 150,000 vehicles a year that Geely could use to make its low-cost cars. Proton also has a readymade sales network in Malaysia that Geely could use to sell its cars.
Malaysia will allow Geely to develop its right-hand drive models, and potentially bring in Volvo Cars as incomes rise in the country.
“No matter the odds, best to never ever bet against Li Shufu,” said Michael Dunne, the president of Hong Kong-based consultancy Dunne Automotive. “He has that golden touch, bundles of charm and incomparable tenacity.”
Mr Li, 53, is worth $4.8bn, according to Bloomberg’s estimate.
Vincent Bollore
Vincent Bollore is infamous for his corporate raids and boardroom coups. Yet the Breton billionaire has a less bellicose side hustle – he’s spent more than a decade developing electric batteries for cars and buses, as well as energy storage systems.
Financially, he hasn’t got much to show for it. More than €2bn (Dh8.28bn) has been spent and no profit generated. The technology it is using, known as solid-state battery, is promising. Experts see it as a successor to today’s lithium ion batteries. Mr Bollore makes the batteries at three French factories and installs them only in cars and buses of its own design, using them in vehicle-sharing and transit schemes in French cities.
The Asian companies that dominate the market for electric car batteries – Panasonic, BYD and LG Chem – have economies of scale that Bollore could never match.
Mr Bollore’s tech has some potential advantages over the Asia-produced lithium ion batteries that dominate the market. Its solid-state battery uses lithium metal polymers to conduct electricity instead of liquids. Such batteries can hold more energy in smaller, lighter packages – something that would cut the cost and weight of electric cars. Plus they’re less likely to catch fire or explode.
The big predicament for Bollore is that its battery needs to be heated at all times to at least 60° Celsius or it will lose power and empty out, so a vehicle needs to be plugged in when not in use. Carmakers have stuck with lithium ion batteries as a result.
Mr Bollore is working on a fix but it might take years. And the cost is piling up – the group is investing up to €250m a year on the battery project, which is on track to miss every target set at its October 2013 IPO.
* Bloomberg
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