Zero-emission boat prepares for round-the-world odyssey

Energy Observer, a former multihull race boat converted into a green vessel equipped with solar panels, wind turbines and a hydrogen fuel-cell system, will be powered by wind, the sun and self-generated hydrogen.

The $5.25 million boat, which is currently in a shipyard in Saint-Malo, will set sail from the Brittany port and will make its first of 101 stops across 50 countries in Paris as part of a six-year circumnavigation.

“This boat will demonstrate that there are many solutions for energetic transition,” said French environmentalist Nicolas Hulot, who attended the project presentation on Wednesday at the UNESCO headquarters.

Designed in 1983, the boat enjoyed a successful career in open-sea sailing races, including winning the Jules Verne Trophy in 1994.

According to Florence Lambert, the director of the CEA Liten research institute which devised the boat’s energy system, Energy Observer is a good example of what energy networks will look like in the near future, with its well-balanced mix of renewable energies and hydrogen storage system.