The Energy Collective Group
This group brings together the best thinkers on energy and climate. Join us for smart, insightful posts and conversations about where the energy industry is and where it is going.
Video
Despite cool achievement hydrogen still not ready for prime time
At the end of the day what the Energy Observer is about to accomplish is more a “public relations” event that garners attention but does little to move the industry closer to viability. It doesn’t solve the production, storage, or distribution issues that hydrogen faces, or even move the needle.
No matter – I bit because it demonstrates the promise and potential of hydrogen. And it’s just an interesting story about the combined use of multiple zero-emission energy sources.
The Energy Observer is a 100-foot zero emission catamaran powered by solar, wind, and hydrogen. It recently docked in Florida in preparation for the final leg of its around-the-world journey that will take it back to France by way of stops in Washington, New York, and Boston.
Can you say photo ops?
Note that the journey started in 2020 so this has been a deliberate voyage. Still, it has traveled 63,040 nautical miles without the use of any fossil fuels.
In addition to solar and hydrogen, the ship employs what it calls “oceanwings” which are advanced automated 12-meter sails that increase the catamaran’s speed while lowering its energy consumption.
During the trip, the Energy Observer’s power mix has been 40% wind, 40% solar, and 20% hydrogen. As I said, this is a clever PR move where pro-hydrogen publications could portray the vessel as a hydrogen ship.
I’m poking fun at the story, but maritime transport - which I’ve previously covered - accounts for 3% of the world’s greenhouse gases. So as much as this event may be a bit “smoke and mirrors” the problem it is attempting to solve is real.
The team behind the Energy Observer plans to share what they learn. The “oceanwings” have already been deployed commercially on a freighter called Canopee, and a second ship is in the works. Energy Observer 2 will be a 400-foot cargo ship capable of carrying 5,000 metric tons. The second iteration will utilize liquid hydrogen.
I will not doubt bite on that story as well.
#hydrogen #hydrogenpower #maritimeindustry #zeroemissions #energyexplorer
More Posts
West of Scotland | Hydrogen Hub
Hydrogen Hub | West of Scotland
Elon Musk is Right About the SuperCharger Business
I read an avalanche of media criticism when Elon Musk fired his entire SuperCharger team a few weeks ago. In spite of all the whining, it was a good business decision for Tesla.
How Dominant was Solar in 2023?
Solar has blown by wind as the dominant form of new clean power generation. It sets records in 2023, but it wasn't all sunshine.
UK hydrogen landscape
UK action-plan-electrolytic-hydrogen
Get Published - Build a Following
The Energy Central Power Industry Network® is based on one core idea - power industry professionals helping each other and advancing the industry by sharing and learning from each other.
If you have an experience or insight to share or have learned something from a conference or seminar, your peers and colleagues on Energy Central want to hear about it. It's also easy to share a link to an article you've liked or an industry resource that you think would be helpful.
Sign in to Participate