WE TALK ABOUT
Floating lab visits SA
THE world’s first hydrogen-powered ship recently visited our shores, offering South Africans a glimpse into the future of renewable energy. What makes this ship so remarkable is the fact it draws energy from nature – while also preserving it.
The vessel, Energy Observer, is fuelled by the sun, wind and batteries as well hydrogen, and it has zero carbon emissions.
The ship’s solar panels and wind turbines are used to charge batteries. The excess solar power that the ship doesn’t use for propulsion is used to desalinate seawater and convert it into hydrogen, which is stored in tanks on the vessel.
When there’s no sun or wind, the stored energy is used to power the unique vessel.
There are five crew members onboard: a captain, a second-in-command, a scientist, a systems engineer responsible for keeping everything working and a journalist to document the journey.
SAILING THE WORLD
Energy Observer was previously used in yacht races under the name ENZA New Zealand and in 1994
