The Innovations

In 2020, Energy Observer made the longest sailings in her history with its first transatlantic crossing and the exploration of overseas territories up to French Guiana, counting more than 10 000 nautical miles. Let's have a look at the energy performances of our vessel during a year like no other.

Our vessel left the water on January the 4th for a three-week technical stopover in Le Marin, Martinique. A short break after a year 2020 marked by the longest navigations since leaving Saint-Malo in 2017.

Our catamaran left the Bahamas on 15th July to set sail for Martinique, where she arrived on 28th July. A navigation of more than 1,500 miles carried out in one go with difficult weather conditions.

While the crew of Energy Observer continues to navigate the Atlantic without being able to set foot on land, another team is holding its breath: that of Energy Observer Developments (EODev), whose REXH2 is currently sailing on the first hydrogen vessel around the world.

The first hydrogen vessel around the world has just started its winter technical stopover after 7 months of expedition to Northern Europe.

Energy Observer takes care of the details. The experimental catamaran optimizes all its systems to improve its performance as well as the crew’s comfort. Explanations by Roland Reynaud, the on-board engineer.

This is the brain of the vessel’s energy supply. Combining multiple intermittent renewable energy sources and storage is one thing. Optimising their use to propel the boat and ensure the crew’s comfort is another! This is where the Energy Management System (EMS) comes in.

Energy Observer is propelled by two electric motors, each with 42kW, providing a total of 115 horsepower. The motors, designed by Phase Automation, have very high output (97%), which also contributes to reducing the boat’s energy requirements.

To avoid losing the energy dissipated as heat, the Energy Observer engineers installed a recovery system for the heating and hot water used in the living quarters nacelle.

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

Hydrogen has a very high energy content: for the same weight, it contains up to three times more energy than diesel, and 2.5 times more than natural gas. That said, we know how to store natural gas in tanks or pipelines. Storing hydrogen is more difficult.

Currently, 95% of the world’s hydrogen supply is from fossil fuel, through a reforming process using methane, the main component of natural gas. Electrolysis using a renewable energy source is a solution for the future use of green hydrogen on a large scale.