The world’s first hydrogen powered yacht has arrived in London as part of a six-year zero emission expedition circumnavigating the globe.
The 30.5 metre catamaran Energy Observer, which is powered only by renewable energy and hydrogen, visited London for the final stop of its Northern European tour and will remain under Tower Bridge for 10 days.
London is the 47th and final stop on Energy Observer’s Northern European tour, which has seen the yacht sail 18,000 emission free nautical miles since departing Saint Malo in 2017.
The tour has so far seen the yacht visit locations in the Netherlands, Germany and Scandinavia. It also reached the milestone of completing the 5,700 km crossing from St Petersburg to Spitsbergen in the Arctic.
The end of the Northern European itinerary completes the third year of the expedition. Next year, the yacht is set to visit North Asia and intends to be in Tokyo to coincide with the Olympic Games. It will then progress to the Pacific and US West Coast in 2021, finishing with Central America and the US East Coast in 2022.
The mission of the vessel is to prove and exhibit the successful use of these cutting-edge technologies in extreme conditions.
Data gathered from Energy Observer’s six-year circumnavigation will be used in the development of hydrogen fuel cell technology for the maritime, transport and domestic heating industries.
Led by founder and captain Victorien Erussard and Jérôme Delafosse, the boat has also been named France’s chief ambassador for the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals.
Energy Observer is powered by sun, wind and hydro-kinetic energies. These power the on board batteries as well as the ground-breaking technology that sees electrolysis charge the yacht’s hydrogen fuel cells.
Energy Observer expedition leader Jérôme Delafosse said: “London is the last stopover in our Northern Europe tour. What a long way we have come! Energy Observer was able to discover the many initiatives deployed by the major capitals of Northern Europe in terms of energy and environmental transition.”