Hydrogen Powered Electric Sailboat! (PowerUp & Berkeley Marine Center)

[@thatsailingcouple]

Love this! Our 1963 Pearson Ariel is currently fitted with a 24v system and high thrust electric motor. Although we are reliant on dock power for charging, we love the ability to silently motor in and out of our slip! Electric is the future and the future is here!

[@TwotheHorizonSailing]

That’s so cool you’ve already gone electric! That’s half the battle! If you are interested in the possibility of using a hydrogen generator to recharge, we should chat further and I can introduce you guys to Cree at BMC who is working super hard to make Berkeley Marina an off-the-grid hydrogen hub!

[@thatsailingcouple]

​@@TwotheHorizonSailing We would love to meet Cree! We're on B-Bock in Berkeley. Right across the fairway from Sequoia, the cal 40 rebuilt by Cree and Fred Cook for the 2017 TransPac. We're excited to meet all the Legends here in the Bay!

[@menoswaste1780]

Woah! This is so exciting!

[@TwotheHorizonSailing]

Yes pretty cool to be a part of such cutting edge technology as it is entering the marine industry!

[@SailingKitabu]

Heck yea that is really awesome! Well done team!

[@TwotheHorizonSailing]

Super exciting! There’s still a lot of infrastructure to figure out but Cree is working with a wonderful group of Eco-warriors to make it happen!

[@SailingWindGypsy]

I have been hoping there would be more information on the technical aspects motor generator and installation of the system

[@TwotheHorizonSailing]

Yes, this was a simple promo video I put together on the fly since this was the first test of the system actually moving the boat with only hydrogen power (batteries weren’t connected) PowerUp has more info on their website but it’s all evolving and happening as we speak so stay tuned for more detailed updates

[@bradmcclure4945]

what hp does you system produce??

[@TwotheHorizonSailing]

This system powered a 10KW electric motor. If you are interested in more specs and details on the project, reach out to Berkeley Marine Center at: [e-mail]

[@bradmcclure4945]

@@TwotheHorizonSailing unfortunately that site has zero info about the hydrogen system

[@TwotheHorizonSailing]

You can call or email. Or contact PowerUp

[@camsail]

Does Hydrogen sink? eg. would a leak in this system have the same dangers as propane below decks and collecting?

[@TwotheHorizonSailing]

Hmm honestly I have no clue. I wish I were more of an expert in this project but I just happen to be friends with the crew at Berkeley Marine Center who are partnering in this project. PowerUp is the company behind the technology, they would know all the details

[@alexkazakov2009]

No, it doesn't. H2 is 14 times lighter than air. So if it leaks it diffuses rapidly and dilutes into non-flammable concentrations.

[@BryanHaskin]

I am iffy on electric boats, but I would absolutely convert my boat to a hydrogen electric.

[@TwotheHorizonSailing]

What makes you feel iffy about electric motors for boats? The main issue with them is having enough power (for boats who want a longer range). For bigger boats the electric system is made a hybrid one with a diesel generator, but if bigger boats could use hydrogen to gain longer range that would eliminate their need for any fossil fuels. For small day sailors, you could have a very minimal battery Bank and the hydrogen generator would give more than enough power to get out the marina and power your systems while sailing

[@SailingKitabu]

How many kilowatt hours is in 2,000 liters of compressed hydrogen? Is the hydrogen stored in sodium hydride for safety?

[@TwotheHorizonSailing]

Hmm all good questions, unfortunately I don’t know all the details. Cree or PowerUp would be the people to talk to about specifics, we were only hired to help produce the short video

[@alexkazakov2009]

It is stored in type 4 composite cylinders - there are multiple layers of safety in these. 2000 litres of H2 @300 bar is roughly 760 kWh of usable electrical energy.

[@SailingKitabu]

@@alexkazakov2009 That is really awesome info - 2000 liters H2 @ 300 bar will fit into one of those small cylinders? looks like they are about .5 meter x.25 meter?

[@alexkazakov2009]

@@SailingKitabu to avoid confusion. the cylinder in the video is likely to be a 9l@300 bar, which holds approximately 240g of H2 (ca' 0.5 lbs) and enough to provide 3.5 kWh of usable electric energy.