The Energy Observer laboratory ship is about to complete its world tour, here is what it learned in 63,000 miles

Au cours du voyage, 40% de l'énergie utilisée était d'origine éolienne, 40% d'origine photovoltaïque et 20% provenait de l'hydrogène. Pitcha DANGPRASITH/AFP

The Energy Observer laboratory ship, the first ship capable of producing its own hydrogen, is stopping this week in Florida, in the southeast of the United States, the last country it will visit before returning to France to complete a world tour started in 2020.

Since its first expedition, around France in 2017, this catamaran, more than 30 meters long, covered with 202 m2 of solar panels, has covered nearly 63,040 nautical miles using renewable energy alone .

63,040 nautical miles traveled

In addition to its fuel cell and photovoltaic energy, the Energy Observer harnesses the wind thanks to its "Oceanwings", fully automated 12-meter wings, which allow it to fly. increase navigation speed, reduce consumption or dedicate engines to hydrogen production.

The objective of the project is twofold: to test all clean energy technologies on board and to share what has been learned through meetings, articles and published videos, the ship's captain, Marin Jarry, explained to AFP on Tuesday during a stopover in Fort Lauderdale, near Miami.

The world tour, started in 2020, led the members of the project, led by the navigator Victorien Erussard, to test these technologies in a multitude of climatic conditions passing through the Atlantic, the Pacific, the ;Asia, Africa and now America.

He returns with lots of lessons

The result is positive, according to Marin Jarry. "We learned a lot along the way, both technologically and about other solutions,” he assured.

The company hopes that the maritime sector can draw inspiration from its experiences and move towards clean energy. Ocean wings, for example, are already used on cargo ships such as the Canopée, designed to transport parts of the Ariane 6 rocket from Europe to the Kourou space center in Guyana.

During the trip, 40% of the energy used was of wind origin, 40% of photovoltaic origin and 20% came from electricity. hydrogen.

After Florida, he will go to Washington, New York, and Boston, before returning to France.

The company is already working on another project, the Energy Observer 2, a cargo ship 120 meters long, 22 meters wide and with a loading capacity of 5,000 tonnes , which will run on liquid hydrogen.

Maritime transport generates 3% of the planet's greenhouse gases each year, according to the International Maritime Organization, which wants to reduce net emissions to zero by 2050.