A boat that fuels itself is setting off around the world from Paris on a six-year journey that its designers hope will serves as a model for emissions-free energy networks of the future. Energy Observer will use its solar panels, wind turbines and a hydrogen fuel cell system to power its trip. The 5 million-euro ($5.25 million) boat heads off Saturday from Paris toward the Atlantic. The futuristic-looking 30.5-meter (100-foot) boat will rely on sun or wind during the day and tap into its hydrogen reservoirs at night. It produces its own hydrogen through electrolysis of sea water. Originally designed in 1983, the boat enjoyed a successful career in open-sea sailing races before skippers Frederic Dahirel and Victorien Erussard and a French research institute converted it into the Energy Observer project. © 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Citation: Self-fueling boat sets off from Paris on 6-year world trip (2017, July 15) retrieved 14 April 2020 from https://phys.org/news/2017-07-self-fueling-boat-paris-year-world.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
A boat powered by solar panels, wind turbines and a hydrogen fuel cell system has begun a six-year journey around the world to raise awareness about renewable energy. Originally designed in the day, the $5.25m Energy Observer will rely on solar and wind power during 1983, turning to the fuel cell at night and will produce its own hydrogen via electrolysis of sea water. She was previously an open-sea racing vessel, before being converted by skippers Frederic Dahirel and Victorien Erussard and a French research institute.