Energy Observer, the first round-the-world hydrogen-powered sea vessel, is scheduled to arrive in Long Beach Friday to highlight clean energy solutions on Earth Day.
Since setting sail from Saint Malo, France, in 2017, the 100-foot catamaran has navigated more than 30,000 nautical miles powered by renewable energies.
The vessel produces its own hydrogen onboard with solar, wind power and hydropower. The stopover will showcase the laboratory vessel and act as an opportunity to share its mission with the general public and local authorities.
“Energy Observer is an experimental platform for tomorrow’s energies. She is an intelligent, revolutionary boat which navigates the oceans without damaging the planet. Her electric propulsion is fueled by renewable energies: sun, wind and marine currents,” Captain and founder Victorien Erussard said in a statement.
“However, what makes her unique is her capacity for storing her energy in the form of hydrogen produced from seawater, a technology which enables her to navigate the globe entirely self-sufficiently,” he said. “Today, it’s important to give innovation meaning and use it to overcome the challenges that humanity is facing.”
The stopover in Long Beach will be followed by another stop in San Francisco before it continues its trip to Hawaii and then Tokyo. The vessel is currently on its way to Long Beach from the Galapagos Islands.
In four years since setting sail, the Energy Observer has navigated seas on a round-the-world odyssey scheduled to run through 2024. The vessel has made 63 stopovers thus far in 29 countries.
The mission of the expedition is to demonstrate how the onboard technologies and energy mix work in extreme environments in the hopes of duplicating them on a larger scale.
The Energy Observer will be docked at the Pine Avenue Pier in Rainbow Harbor Marina from Friday, April 23 to Wednesday, April 28.
Thank you for being the first to cover this momentous event. We hope to learn more about this technological marvel!