Energy Observer Celebrates Return To France After 7-year Round-the-world Odyssey

14 June 2024

Saint-Malo - Energy Observer, the laboratory vessel of the energy transition, returns to her home port today, marking the end of a seven-year Odyssey around the world. This event will celebrate the incredible adventure of the vessel and her crew, and mark the end of a remarkable international episode, while announcing ambitious new projects to pursue the mission undertaken.

Since her launch on April 14, 2017, Energy Observer has covered more than 68,000 nautical miles - more than three times around the world - visited 50 countries and made 101 stopovers. During this Odyssey, she has demonstrated the viability of clean, renewable technologies in all possible conditions, from the cold of the Arctic to the heat of the tropics. Initiated by Victorien Erussard, a merchant navy officer and ocean racer, the project brought together a team of sailors, scientists, engineers and journalists with a threefold mission: to explore, experiment with and disseminate concrete solutions to the challenges of the energy transition, and to help build a low-carbon world.

"This return to Saint-Malo is a symbolic step that closes a chapter in an exceptional human and technological adventure," says Victorien Erussard, founder and captain of Energy Observer. "Even if there is still a lot to do and a lot of room for improvement, we have demonstrated the possible adoption of our energy mix and proved the viability of certain technological bricks in the most extreme environments. We're proud of the results we've achieved and look forward to sharing our new plans for 2025-2030."

A program of celebrations between Saint-Malo and Paris

To celebrate her return to Saint-Malo, the vessel and her exhibition village will be open to the public from June 14 to 23 on the Quai Duguay-Trouin. Visitors will be able to discover the onboard technologies and relive the highlights of this unique adventure.

Energy Observer will then make a highly symbolic stopover in Paris, moored between the Pont de l'Alma and the Pont Alexandre III from July 27, then accompanied by her village from September 12 to October 13.

7 years of exploration, innovation and encounters

A legendary multihull transformed into a laboratory vessel
Energy Observer is based on the largest racing multihull of the 1980s, a vessel that won the famous Jules Verne Trophy, a crewed round-the-world race under the colors of Enza New Zealand. Transformed into a floating laboratory for the energy transition, the vessel has become a symbol of technological innovation in the service of a sustainable future. It operates on a mix of renewable energies, propulsion wings and a complete hydrogen chain, demonstrating the viability of these low-carbon solutions in a variety of climatic and geographical conditions. This experience has given rise to two industrial projects: EODev, a pioneer and world leader in the market for hydrogen-powered electric generators, and EO Concept, the engineering office behind the ambitious Energy Observer 2 cargo ship project powered by liquid hydrogen.

An Odyssey to the four corners of the world
Energy Observer has sailed all the world's seas to grasp the challenges of the energy transition globally, on the spot and in context. Between 2017 and 2024, the vessel sailed a different geographical area each year - France, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, the Pacific, Asia, Africa, the Americas - to understand the resources and threats specific to each continent, and thus grasp the complexity of the energy world.

A human adventure 
The Odyssey is also a round-the-world voyage to meet the people who are committed to the ecological transition. A scientific mission, it was an opportunity to collect and share valuable data on energy systems. A strategic mission, it enabled us to meet decision-makers from all over the world to inform and influence energy policies. And finally, an educational mission, during which the onboard audiovisual teams produced over 13 documentary films, 600 reports, 50,000 images and 200 articles for the general public.

New Energy Observer projects

As the Odyssey comes to an end, new projects are on the horizon for 2025/2030. Energy Observer is already working on the concept of a new laboratory vessel (equivalent in size to the first) called Energy Observer 3. EO 3 will experiment with synthetic fuels called e-fuels, and associated technologies and energy storage systems. A new ship means a new Odyssey, with its share of images and encounters that will feed a new documentary series: Energy, the enlightened future, destined to become a reference on contemporary energy issues.

Finally, with a view to furthering her education mission, Energy Observer is announcing two complementary projects: the Energy Observer Weekly digital platform and the Energy Observatory, an energy transition research and education center based in Saint-Malo, a cultural destination at the crossroads of science, technology and the arts. These two projects aim to decipher the world's energies and the world of energies.

Saint Malo - Quai Duguay-Trouin: Energy Observer and her exhibition village, designed to raise public awareness of the challenges of energy and ecological transition, will be open from June 14 to 23, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day except 14/06: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. and 23/06: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
The boat will be visible from the quay, but cannot be visited by the public.

Paris - Quai de la Conférence: From July 27 to September 8, Energy Observer will be moored between the Pont de l'Alma and the Pont Alexandre III, in the Port de la Conférence, next to the Compagnie des Bateaux Mouches wharf.
The boat will be visible from the quay, but cannot be visited by the public.

Paris - Port du Gros-Caillou: Energy Observer and her exhibition village, designed to raise public awareness of the challenges of energy and ecological transition, will be open from September 12 to October 13 (times to be confirmed).
The boat will be visible from the quay, but cannot be visited by the public.

About Energy Observer

Energy Observer was originally a laboratory vessel, a genuine research and innovation platform dedicated to the energy transition. It runs on a mix of renewable energies, propulsion wings and a complete hydrogen chain, demonstrating the viability of these decarbonized solutions in a variety of climatic and geographical conditions. Launched in 2017, the vessel has covered more than 68,000 nautical miles, visited 50 countries and made 101 port calls to promote clean, sustainable technologies.

France's first ambassador for the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN, her mission, reinforced by her endowment fund, is to innovate to accelerate the energy transition, explore and share decarbonization solutions, and raise public awareness of energy issues and innovations. Each stopover is an opportunity to collaborate with scientists, industrialists and political decision-makers to understand the world's energy challenges and explore the decarbonization roadmaps of the countries visited.

Energy Observer is also a committed medium, with 13 documentary films broadcast on Canal+ and over 500 videos available online, highlighting sustainable solutions encountered around the world. It has also opened the doors of her exhibition village and ship to more than 350,000 visitors, to raise public awareness in the field.

To accelerate the energy transition, two subsidiaries were created: EODev, world leader in electro-hydrogen power units, and EO Concept, whose main objective is to develop the world's lowest-carbon cargo ship, running on fuel cells and liquid hydrogen.

Energy Observer has received the High Patronage of Mr. Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic. It has the official support of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, UNESCO, the European Union, Irena, and Ademe.

www.energy-observer.org

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