“Celebrating the best of innovation, together!” Behind the slogan of tech&fest, which will take place on February 5 and 6, 2025 at Alpexpo, is the idea of an event conducive to exchanges and sharing. “It is a collective and collaborative project, a conversational event that is not a trade fair but a festival,” points out Benjamin Coron, general manager of EBRA Médias Rhône-Alpes Paca and co-director of tech&fest, during the launch of the second edition, Tuesday, July 2, at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of Grenoble.
Alongside him, Christophe Victor, general director of Dauphine Liberated and co-director of the festival, is delighted with last year’s success. More than 15,000 visitors took part to learn how to save lives using virtual reality, reinvent the aviation of the future to reduce its environmental impact, and understand the environmental impact of their smartphone. The second edition will be “even stronger,” promises Christophe Victor, announcing a “special event, set to last a long time thanks to a year-round community.”
Approaching tech in a transversal way
To ensure that this festival does not only last two days, but also generates interest throughout the year, Hugo Travers (better known as HugoDécrypte) will be present alongside journalists Georges Bosi and Matthieu Estrangin, to ensure media coverage. Just like last year, managers, investors, researchers, start-ups, academics and institutions will meet to approach tech in a transversal way. On the program, Laura Perrard, co-founder of the festival, unveils a “path to pass through six different tech universes: tech&human, tech&planet, tech&space, tech&fab, tech&solutions and tech&you.” Visitors will dive into the future of these different universes. A main stage will host conferences and workshops and a food court area will be dedicated to catering. For the second edition, Benoit Lemaignan, co-founder of Verkor (designer of low-carbon electric batteries) is sponsoring the event.
“Technology won’t save the world, but the world won’t be saved without it.”
Behind the notion of progress inherent in the festival, there is also the ambition to think about the world of tomorrow. The festival will therefore host the “Decarbonization Village” where stakeholders will be able to reflect on the various ways of reconciling technology and the environment, or even putting technology at the service of the environment. “Tech will not save the world, but the world will not be saved without it,” emphasizes Benjamin Coron. Guillaume Buffet, founder of Motherbase, a technology developed to detect and evaluate innovative stakeholders for decarbonization, will be the leader of this village. He will select 50 companies that will come to the festival to show that not only is decarbonization possible, but that it is also positive. So that the discussions do not stop there, the weekend will continue in the Alps, with tech&ski, on February 7 and 8.
