How this hydrogen-powered vessel creates its own energy

We went on board the Energy Observer, a repurposed racing catamaran that's 100% energy-independent, producing its own power with hydrogen and solar technologies.
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[@andyaltman5778]

Where do you want the Energy Observer to stop next?

[@pascalharbers390]

autonomously between the us and great pacific garbage patch --> shrinking the patch :) Imagine what 20 of those could accomplish 24/7 ...

[@randelljack]

New York

[@Mrdresden]

Reykjavík, Iceland.

[@reu89]

Galapagos, Ecuador.

[@chippies121]

NYC

[@tylerdurden639]

I like that they store the extra solar energy as hydrogen to run a fuel cell generator. The sails let you get the extra speed from windy days as well. Very nice. I think something like the Solar 60 could benefit from the hydrogen storage technology.

[@enjoynature2827]

Hydrogen is a joke, its eay leas efficient than batteries and a scam to reinforce fracking. Just saying, its the science... the boat is otherwise super cool though!

[@bvirtue]

@@enjoynature2827 Other than the part where they explain the ship would sink if they tried to store an equal amount of energy in batteries... but I guess sinking isn't really that bad, it's still a boat.

[@StrangeTerror]

@@bvirtue it's truly breathtaking how hard some people work to ignore the experimental side of things. Like new technologies just come out fully developed and proven with no testing or failure along the way.

[@weinisable]

@@StrangeTerror New technologies ? Solar and batteries have been around 30+ years..they are “mature” tech Hydrogen production and Fuel cells less time, but still fully commercialised tech. It takes a full day of cloudless sun for that boat to charge its 115kWh battery. That full battery may just about power the electrolyser to produce 2 Kg of hydrogen. When that 2 kg of hydrogen is run through the fuel cell ( back to the battery ? ) to power the main drive motors, it may just drive it for 1.5-2.0 hrs..possibly enough for 10 miles if there is no wind. What does it proove...hydrogen is a terribly inefficient energy storage medium ! And what did all this cost ??,

[@michaelsilvey1230]

@@weinisable exactly .....

[@angelolewis419]

That's an awesome ship and great application of renewable energy. I'd love to see that tech used to make cities more environmentally friendly

[@CDrgnt]

My mom works at energy observer and recently they've set up (for about ten days) an exposition/ event that explained the boat's features and other advances in hydrogen tech (because their research is very much centered around that). In those advances, when talking about green cities, there were hydrogen bikes, cars, buses and they whole show itself (10 days) was powered by a hyrdrogen motor, which is promising for the energy creation in larger infrastructures. Hope this helped lol :)

[@envirowisenz]

Excellent news. @@CDrgnt

[@ElectricFuture]

Pretty cool, I did a video about a solar powered catamaran last year and this ship addressed just about every “what if...” from the comments.

[@dylreesYT]

Subscribed because that was also a super interesting video

[@AviralArora__]

Hatsoff to the engineers

[@savagegtalks5912]

you should google Daggett in California and see how the first "green city" on this earth looks 50 years in the making... Maybe you should go watch: Michael Moore Presents: Planet of the Humans These engineers get paid to fool you, if they fail, they won't get paid. These trolls are more illusionist then engineers.

[@StrangeTerror]

@@savagegtalks5912 As a mechanical engineering student I have to disagree. It's a proof of concept more so than anything. Also known as heaven for engineers, or people who like to create in general. It doesn't always have to be profitable or practical to be cool and enjoyable to make work. Do I agree that too many sacrifices were made to make this work? Definitely, but it's not my money and I don't have to live with it.

[@savagegtalks5912]

@@StrangeTerror your opinion don't matter, we see the results after 50 years... besides you assimilated into their group, if they are wrong or not don't matter to you as long as you fit inn. Your educations means nothing, you just cheated a corrupt system, congratulations^^

[@laur-unstagenameactuallyca1587]

@@savagegtalks5912 you sound like a dropout

[@joniholthofer6948]

I am mechanical engineer and airplane mechanic and this engineering is genius. World should learn about these kind of projects and make it happen 🤘

[@Mike0in0Texas]

I happen to be walking by the pier when I saw you guys filming and boarding the ship. Cool to see the video and know that I wasn’t far away 😁

[@paulbergin4239]

Amazing stuff... Whoever said that this couldn't be done BEHOLD.

[@michaelchildish]

This is absolutely genius and we need more of this, and more appreciation for green technology in general!

[@stephenlee2665]

this is very well thought ship with fully utilized every bit of renewable energy, big applaud to those designers/engineers behind this ship design.

[@Horizon__]

Very cool future we have ahead of us if we can leverage renewable energy.

[@malcolmorrall8338]

Great piece, Andy...definitely an eye-opener. Very interesting idea. Thanks!

[@utkuerkan7028]

Nice video Cnet, appreciate your works and please post us similar content in near future. The hydrogen and fuel/solar cell powered ship is remarkable, I hope these technologies are applied to be used in near future in aviation, land vehicles, boats/yachts. Perhaps it would ascend and fly in the future using such or newer technologies. =))

[@globalance1948]

Very cool folks!! Congratulations on a gorgeous creation!!! D

[@brunogodinho6326]

I think this is a perfect setup to live full time on the water.

[@savagegtalks5912]

this setup will last you maybe 10 years if lucky... I know you don't wish to go into how much it will cost you to maintain for 20 years. you should go check up in the city called Daggett in California... they got a nice history for all those who still believes in Solar power... You should see this city today, that was the first "green city" on this earth, it's only sand dunes left now. The wanabe liberals that first went, all left. Non of them stayed... Non of them even tried to maintain it. Now it's just a city full of scraps and waste. It was a funny idea little girls came up with, but not sustainable for mankind.

[@dotamaze]

@@savagegtalks5912 Well said. Vag owners usually love to talk liberal because they do not know the realities. They are always protected by their husband and father and that made them think they are invincible.

[@bakaariiim]

But more women to work must on the bridge.

[@savagegtalks5912]

@@bakaariiim what? that made no sense. Google translate failed you bro.

[@bakaariiim]

@@savagegtalks5912 Less women less happiness. More women's must be good that conditions. Google translate is sucks. Daha az kadın daha az mutluluk. Daha fazla kadın bu şartlarda iyi olmalı. Google çeviri berbat. good morning AM 7:19 İstanbul/TÜRKİYE

[@car_tar3882]

I think this tech would be awesome in a cruise ship because I like cruising and hydrogen power could be more dense than battery’s if at high enough pressure allowing a traditional 7 night cruise with sea days or a trans Atlantic cruise

[@123maxml5]

That would be awesome, I suspect the explosive property of hydrogen would be a serious safety concern for something like this though.

[@car_tar3882]

@@123maxml5 yes however if this boat can do it so i dont know way a cruise couldn't but a cruise takes a long time to evacuate so that would make it hard

[@vishalgiraddi5357]

You might as well use liquid hydrogen, lighter tanks + higher energy density + safer

[@laur-unstagenameactuallyca1587]

Nah, I think it's too important for that. An ocean liner would be a better choice - not leisure but actual transport.

[@FloraGrishaj]

Wow, This technology is mind blowing. I am so glad that this is finely moving forward. Hopefully next coming years we will see this technology applied everywhere, in the cars, in homes, in airplanes pretty much every where the source of energy can be used and replace the high cost energy that is in use right now, and the best part about this is ecofriendly and super low cost. Thank you so much you folks not just for doing such an amazing job in research but sharing this with us, sharing it with the public. Simply Amazing, Big Thank You!!!!!

[@1971jwing]

Obviously the cruise ships and trans liners would make an impact. Neat product and the autonomy is amazing. Great luck to all humans. Looks like we may need it.

[@sweetxdecay8965]

Not only is this ship beautiful it's an amazing piece of clean energy-powered technology. The solar panels actually add to the ship's aesthetic in my opinion. I'm blown away by how much energy the panels generate and just how durable they are too! I feel like this kind of tech can be applied to plants that can use osmosis to create other resources. There is so much possibility with this!

[@breannaspradley1855]

How cool is that? It's wonderful to see environmental friendly vessels and such be used.

[@TaylerSpliff]

Sails on a boat make so much sense. I went from Canada to Guatemala barely starting to motor. Solar energy for the electronics and necessities, sail moves you through the water.. Maybe sail will make a comeback?! Solar is on its way!

[@greggreg2263]

Baller Baller shot caller!!!! This boat is super awesome great innovation moving everybody forward

[@serge1990]

This is a great ship I love the fact that they use solar panels to generate energy and also the way they store the excess energy as hydrogen

[@jenellbakey4297]

What an incredible innovation! And they answered every question I had right down to how do you even work on the ship when there are solar panels covering the entire thing? I always thought solar panels were fragile, but it's cool that they can use them to harness energy while still being able to walk on them.

[@Angloman516]

That is absolutely brilliant, I'm intrigued as to how the money was found to produce it.

[@Tiggzg]

Let’s save our beautiful blue planet. Great to see this technology at work.

[@Tiggzg]

@@musiccalgary Did you read the article? I think it's self explanatory.

[@doctordev97]

I think this tech is being used in a fantastic application, and scaling the technology up would be a great next move. Imagine a large cargo ship or a cruise ship entirely running on power it generates themselves. Every one of those ships is burning tens of thousands of gallons of fuel every day, and at any given moment there are likely tens of thousands of those ships operating. Talk about cutting down on carbon emissions. We could make solar a more practical option as a primary source of energy by using massive solar farms to make electricity during the day, and store the energy as hydrogen in coastal facilities that operate much like a desalination plant for making fresh water. Perhaps we could even make energy barges that float just a tad offshore, connected to the power grid through undersea cables, that act as both hydrogen generation/storage facilities and as large solar platforms. They could be made out of decommissioned hydrogen cargo ships like the ones I talked about earlier, that way were getting a bit more life out of those ships before we just scrap them. This of course wouldn't be without its drawbacks, just like any other energy solution. The water around the areas with these plants might become over-salinated, causing the area in the immediate vicinity to become less hospitable to marine life. Perhaps we use the salt taken from the water in the hydrogen creation process and use it to supplement and maybe eventually replace the salt mining industry? Salt taken from the ocean would be just as usable as salt mined from the earth, A sodium atom and a chlorine atom stuck together is the same thing regardless of where it comes from. Less mining in general would be a good thing for the environment.

[@ashikpaul345]

How much did it cost to build?

[@crissy4728]

This vessel is interesting how it has so many functional solar panels. What a great idea!

[@zodiacfml]

This at least says something about hydrogen. Hydrogen fuel cell might be poor on passenger cars but more compelling for larger applications

[@PaulHo]

Amazing design. The backups are so genius, with the multiple sources of wind, solar and hydrogen energy. I am so fascinated and impressed with these projects, even though it really is preparing us, and maybe even manifesting, the reality of Water World every day. Can they desalinate for drinking water from the hydrogen production too?

[@stevew4260]

Well I never thought Id say it, but that is my Dream Vessel! Would love to scramble over it, and go away for a week or 10!

[@karkinissan]

This is really cool

[@HarvickOne]

This is more like a spacecraft than a ship

[@Tonyshandle]

It's great to see this legendary catamaran (ex-ENZA NZ) get a new lease of life after it was so close to being scrapped. It was once the fastest boat to sail around the world in 74 days in 1994 by Peter Blake and RKJ.

[@mikeshafer]

I hope someday they make a production version of this boat. I would love nothing more than to live on a solar-electric-hydrogen catamaran and sail around without using any fossil fuels. The tech could be used for sure on larger shipping vessels (which would have to be redesigned of course), and some Australian company is already building a solar-water electrolysis unit for residential properties. I'm a fan of this solar/electric/hydrogen future!

[@howard6433]

You can already sail around the world without using any fossil fuel. They're called sailboats. I hear they've been around for a few centuries.

[@mikeshafer]

@@howard6433 yeah I guess I could walk around all day rather than drive a car but a car makes things much faster and easier.

[@howard6433]

@@mikeshafer Wow, do you know anything about what we're talking about??? This boat cruises at 4.7 knots (from its own website). The typical sailing catamaran of this size cruises at 18 knots, or almost 4 times as fast. If you don't have the millions of dollars to spend on a 30-meter cat, you can buy a used 12-meter mono-hull sailboat for well under $100,000. It's typical cruising speed: 6-7 knots, still faster than this "science experiment".

[@mikeshafer]

@@howard6433 Jesus dude.... calm yourself. This boat is clearly built for comfort, not speed. Nobody is trying to win awards by cruising at 5 knots. Anyone who owns this boat is merely trying to take their time, traveling around in luxury. You can enjoy your sailboat and let the owners of this boat enjoy their paradise on water.

[@howard6433]

@@mikeshafer "Anyone who owns this boat is merely trying to take their time, traveling around in luxury." Wow and just when I thought you couldn't get any more stupid. No, this is not a luxury yacht. As stated several times in the video, it is a "science experiment". Please get a clue...and hold on to it really tight.

[@matthewgbr1917]

Great concept idea. Would like more information on how the boats materials are recycled and disposed of after their usage has ended. Especially the solar panel material.

[@UrbanFury12]

That's exactly what you need. You need solar panels absolutely everywhere.

[@bicyclist2]

I would love to be on that boat. I have sailing experience. Big Coal and Oil buisnesses have a near monopoly on power and utilities in the US. This isn't going to change any time soon. They forgot to mention that the sails were developed by Jauc Cousteau the famous deep sea explorer.

[@ToIsleOfView]

Tanker ships could use this if the maintenance cost is low & speed can be maintained. Work ships fill their deck with cargo.

[@Kent41A]

It would be great to scale this tech up to run large cargo ships. Salt water is easier to split since it conducts electricity better than plain water.

[@Jim-ub3bp]

Great concept. Now apply it for the general public (ferries, buses, container ships). Currently I see this for the rich and famous driving costs up, turning the technology into a luxury item.

[@laur-unstagenameactuallyca1587]

wtf are u taking about its a proof of concept hence it's price, nothing to do with rich ppl

[@briancarlosgreen]

It looks and sounds very cool

[@princexafreen584]

Very efficient ship! Wow!!! Independent energy!

[@tonysu8860]

Interesting, and keep in mind that the state of art photovoltaics used is "yesterday's technology" today, the cost for the same construction probably has dropped to 1/4 what it was then or replaceable by new at same or higher cost. Very cool.

[@marcsuhling9317]

WOW...amazing. Would be awesome to have containerships or even cruise ships like that...

[@kylechartier3710]

Love the tech and concept. I do find the not so energy conscious appliances in the galley a little comical

[@davontaerandolph9140]

I think it’s great that the hydrogen will last and be preserved for up to 6 days without any sun or wind and is a great solution.

[@scottjohnson5357]

So dope! I’m assuming they don’t need a gofundme…

[@cooperwiebs7679]

Bit of a shame they didn't make any mention of the byproduct created by reverse osmosis but either way it's a good start for renewable energy

[@1FishinAddict]

The sails alone are futuristic of sailing already.

[@Dqreed]

I just got mindblown! This is so freakin' cool! Keep it up Toyota!

[@MrZugzug73]

Can you go to Australia ,Brisbane if possible would love to see the ship and and show how good renewable energy is 👌

[@markytuck]

Downward facing panels? I think you mean bi-facial. Increased efficiency from utilising sunlight that reflects off the water/ lower white surface back up into the underside of the panel.

[@jackodinsen604]

Great video! I am curious, what is the battery energy density that would make the hydrogen obsolete? I read that your current system is around 2.1 tonnes and it holds around 1,300kWh of usable energy. So that is around 620Wh/kg. Is that about right?

[@4G12]

And they say batteries are king and hydrogen is obsolete. What folks like these don't seem to realize that when it comes to dense energy storage over the long run, hydrogen utterly destroys batteries, that literally leak energy sitting still and running nothing, whereas a cylinder of hydrogen that isn't leaking significantly will keep that energy for much longer.

[@jessiebrader2926]

I am looking at it right now moored off of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii!

[@Bird-0]

The trailers of 18 wheelers! They'd have less total cargo volume than a standard container would but if used on routes through sunny climates, the shipping company would gain sizable quantities of hydrogen fuel with each trip one would take!

[@billybobwombat2231]

Beautiful creative minds coming together to set our societies on a sustainable and renewable future 🤙🦘

[@brandyellenwrites]

I'm not sure where I'd want the Energy Observer to stop next. It seems they already have a pretty good schedule. I am curious to see more of the travels and see how this results in changes in what we use for energy in our future. I love that it could work fine in a variety of temperatures and regions, that's pretty impressive!

[@DeputyNordburg]

Why not clear sails?

[@jdtscanlan5389]

Was this developed by Apple? Owner no need to think, device works by itself ! Really cool!

[@laur-unstagenameactuallyca1587]

no it was created by engineers. apple sucks

[@kezzaman]

Amazing machine

[@realnutteruk1]

It's got sails.... that's where most of their propulsion comes from....

[@timzo]

“Enough to produce 120kwh of energy, that’s about half as much as a small us home uses in a month.” How long does it take for the boat to make this 120kwh? Per day (20kw*6hours of sun)? Per hour (120kw*1hour of sun)? Sounds like an 8kw system on a typical roof is 40m2, so this 200m2 system could be about 40kw, so I’m guessing the 120kwh is energy produced per average day (I.e. accounting for clouds, shade, aspect etc)?

[@shena.b.3313]

That thing is awesome!!! 👍

[@billhanna2148]

I don't know how much it cost to build but I like it a lot more than every Mega Yacht in the world

[@killbubbatm5983]

Great tech demonstrator and science project. Out of the range of realistic until the incredibly high tech electronics on board are much cheaper. That's why simple fuel still is supreme. It's easy and cheap. I'd be interested in the startup costs for a ship like this. Or something for fun sized like a pontoon boat. How would that compare to gas?

[@atascaderoca8584]

I saw it in Morro Bay. Called the news channel and let them know.

[@CSHarvey]

Energy losses involved in solar-hydrogen-fuel cell make the fuel cell portion of this the weak link. Wonder if they could get at least as much battery storage from an equivalent mass of the fuel cell powertrain. An atmospheric cryo storage system would be more efficient, with the benefit of extracting atmospheric moisture without the need for desalination.

[@bakaariiim]

I think it is to make the environment more balanced by increasing the amount of atmospheric oxygen in a way, the purpose. Why the experiments were done is not explained.

[@3deeguy]

It should be able to distill water. You'd have to pick up food except for fish. Avoid hurricanes and you could sail from continent to continent.

[@701983]

They have a sea water desalination system anyway. To produce pure water for electrolysis (2:14).

[@poione42]

Such a cool boat

[@701983]

It's a solar powered vessel with energy storage by batteries and hydrogen. In my view, a hydrogen powered vessel would get it's propulsion energy mainly from stored hydrogen, not from solar cells on board. It's interesting, but I would also like to see a real hydrogen powered boat. With bigger hydrogen tanks and without hydrogen production on board. Maybe with auxiliary energy from a couple of solar panels (redundancy, emergency system), but basically powered by hydrogen from the tanks.

[@laur-unstagenameactuallyca1587]

without hydrogen production on board? lol good luck. you HAVE to have that because hydrogen isn't exactly easy to come by

[@JG-mp5nb]

Looks like Alameda. Windy as heck!

[@thomasmwangi8136]

Applications? Purifying sea water to drinkable water and using the Hydrogen to power the purification systems instead of grid electricity or other sources. Expensive? Yes. But so is running out of water. Ask Joburg.

[@kathleenwallace8252]

OH my gosh! That is so cool! Not only because of what the boat is doing, but it's real life applications. Solar panels that can be walked on? That could be put into a sidewalk to power street lights. If put on a house, they could store energy into the cells. This technology has so many real life (IRL as my son would say) applications. I also think it's cool that there is proof this is recent haha..the masks.

[@Flapswgm]

This stuff comes from Space Exploration. Only in Aeronautics can this kind of advanced tech be created.

[@sudipchatterjee]

👌👏👏👏👏👏🔥❤️ These can, and will, revolutionize daily commute.

[@laur-unstagenameactuallyca1587]

why would it revolutionize daily commute? are people sailing daily?

[@michaelxdgeorge]

Would have liked to see the battery storage.. Those things weigh so much

[@chadlymath]

There's other videos on the ship that look at them.

[@laur-unstagenameactuallyca1587]

they don't use battery as much as hydrogen tanks LISTEN

[@michaelxdgeorge]

@@laur-unstagenameactuallyca1587 yous correct

[@cryptocypher7733]

Come to Taiwan! Would love to see this ship in person.

[@alaqmaargandhi4526]

I think we’ve been doing this all wrong. We don’t need one really good and solid source of energy, we need multiple sources of renewable energy, not only is it gonna extend the life of our planet, it also adds more redundancy, allowing you to use all the other energy generation system, even if one fails.

[@backdraft916]

“…whether we can make coffee or have a warm meal…” while standing inches away from Hydrogen fuels tanks that could be utilized as stove fuel.

[@laur-unstagenameactuallyca1587]

and?

[@dominickblue6676]

Do we see this application applying to military vessels in the near future??

[@glike2]

Los Angeles to educate the industry and old school boaters. What kind of bottom paint is used? The new ceramic eco friendly bottom paint?

[@maxegloff3001]

i love how he calls those tiny little thinys massive sails😂

[@Keyser-0]

trans-atlantic, hydrogen-powered 'Cunard' liner and freight of course - we could put commercial schedules out on the high seas before aircraft, surely?

[@laur-unstagenameactuallyca1587]

YES. the only smart person in these comments

[@digambermanjhi1747]

Brilliant. 👌👌👏👏

[@KellyMPVM]

I love the real-time energy consumption report! As for the rest, super cool but...

[@aheinstein291]

Up next: World's first wind-powered ship

[@laur-unstagenameactuallyca1587]

cry about it, not everyone wants to be running around maintaining sails

[@darkzero79]

Next step...floating cities. Same concept but bigger boat that does not move and buildings built on top of it. Solar panels to power the city and batteries and hydrogen for energy storage.

[@laur-unstagenameactuallyca1587]

rogue waves. tsunamis. no

[@adamrezabek9469]

if you would call rocket upper stage (space)ship (i know that it usually different thing, but shhh), than Vulcan is older hydrogen powered "ship"

[@BlackSpaniard]

Some unanswered questions or curiosities: What's the top speed? What's the cruising speeds? Is the range basically unlimited? Can the reverse osmosis work with seawater?

[@Holeyguagaamoley]

10 ,5, yes,yes

[@tedmoy]

SO VERY COOL

[@HyperXism]

Very cool not to need to draw on oil consumption like Tesla still does.

[@fxeconomist]

So if I got this well... 202 sqm of solar panels to generate 120 KWh on a sunny clear sky. That's about 600w/sqm. This can't be per hour. Making a coffee wouldn't be that much of a fuss. But if it is, I'm surely interested in the brand of the panels...

[@amigatommy7]

Nice job!

[@sandygeethu3449]

How about agriculture. This could save lot of human power and cost cutting as well

[@ericroe]

You can see when the ship was first launched it had wind turbines but they have replaced them with sails. I wonder why they went away from the wind turbines.

[@laur-unstagenameactuallyca1587]

they caused too much drag they said

[@sony5244]

wow! Wish to know the maximum speed the boat can achieve in normal conditions during sunny days.

[@brianwaltman6077]

Looks like the hydrogen production system would produce a lot of surplus oxygen, that oxygen could be a useful in a lot of ways in our current times. They could sail from country to country thats in need of oxygen...

[@john-zf1yb]

Ru insane?

[@brianwaltman6077]

@@john-zf1yb Its just a suggestion for their open sailing schedule, the system as a whole is amazing, that goes without saying.

[@fascinatedweeb9324]

I guess the only energy-inefficient assets on that ship are the humans.