The Energy Observer is the most environmentally-friendly vessel on the planet. It’s set off on a world tour from France and will be heading towards its final destination of Tokyo, Japan for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Toyota Motor liked the concept so much that they’ve decided to back the project themselves, which could be a huge progression towards integrating this boat of the future into the marine industry.
The final concept for the Energy Observer was rolled out last year, and has been working its way around major European cities ever since then. Toyota Europe have announced that they’ll sponsor the ship on its journey, following a positive pairing in 2017. The two companies share a huge common goal in using hydrogen to store energy and power transport, which they aim to install in their own vehicles for years to come.
These environmentally powered vehicles - although extremely good for our planet - often have the issue of generating power efficiently, as conditions and weather make generation inconsistent and unreliable. Toyota and Energy Observer both understand the qualities that hydrogen possesses as a storage component, allowing the boat to preserve the energy it creates instead of just using it. The energy observer uses wind turbines, solar panels, desalinators and electrolysers to create energy, which makes this impressive boat an extremely efficient generator of power in multiple ways.
The current journey of the vessel will take it through northern Europe into next year, before ending up in Tokyo the year after, ready for the commencing of the games. Being a Japanese-born company, the backing of Toyota could be a huge influence on the success of this campaign, which will be easily identifiable to spectators and tourists during the Olympic period.
Whilst the crew progress through their travels, they’ll be creating a documentary for French television that demonstrates the power of renewable energy and hydrogen across the planet, which will aim to educate viewers on how the positive this work they’re doing really is.
You can follow the progress of the Energy Observer on their news section right here.
