The Innovations

Our ship of the future has finally returned to its natural element after 3 months out of the water and many improvements on its onboard technologies.

Energy Observer chose complementary storage systems: short-term storage in a set of Li-Ion batteries, and eight hydrogen tanks for long-term storage.

The 18th of April was an expected and important day for Energy Observer, which has equipped itself with a new technological brick for wind propulsion: two Oceanwings®, rotating, self-supporting and 100% automated, which will increase the vessel’s speed and produce hydrogen during navigation by sea water electrolysis.

Solar energy is the primary source of energy production aboard the Energy Observer. The team enjoyed optimal sunshine whilst navigating in the Mediterranean where they fully exploited the potential of the photovoltaic panels covering the hulls, nacelle and wings of the craft.

Energy Observer has just completed the second chapter of its Odyssey: the Mediterranean Sea.

Already 10,326 nautical miles covered by Energy Observer. Having set out from Saint-Malo in June 2017, the first hydrogen vessel around the world has made 33 stopovers and has been to 14 countries, navigating in France and the Mediterranean with no emissions of greenhouse gases or fine particles.

Energy Observer is of course a marine vessel and a media platform, but above all it’s a floating laboratory. The crew has tasked itself to test, over six years and in extreme conditions, an innovative energy architecture, heralding tomorrow’s energy systems.

Francis Joyon, Ellen MacArthur and before them, Mike Birch, winner of the first Route du Rhum and Sir Peter Black, Enza, have put their trust in Nigel Irens to design their record-chasing engines. Energy Observer came off the naval architect’s drawing board in 1983 under the name of Formule TAG.

Imagine vegetable gardens on every balcony and rooftop in every town and city! This is the extraordinary feat of three friends who founded Noocity in 2015, an initiative to bring back agriculture to the heart of Porto, and to all the world’s towns and cities.

The energy performance and environmental results for yachts are catastrophic. But the wheels are turning. Changes based on comfort, a determining factor for luxury yachts, are in the works for cleaner boats.

Energy Observer’s Late Morning Departure on Thursday, August 16 from Saint-Tropez and arrival this Saturday, August 18 in Menorca, in the archipelago of the Balearic Islands of Spain. Sailing worth 250 nautical miles (460 kilometers) where a pressure drop assisted the demonstrator ship during the crossing.

Dominique Ristori, Director-General of Energy for the European Commission, regards Energy Observer as a model for the transition of energy and ecology.