The pioneering hydrogen-powered catamaran Energy Observer made an eye-catching appearance in Cork Harbour last weekend, with the 30-metre experimental vessel berthed at Crosshaven Boatyard Marina.
The French catamaran, which has already completed a round-the-world voyage powered by a combination of renewable energy and hydrogen produced aboard, was photographed in Crosshaven during its latest European and North Atlantic expedition.
Its Cork Harbour visit comes immediately ahead of a scheduled stopover in Liverpool from September 10th to 15th.
Floating Laboratory
Energy Observer began life far removed from its present role as a showcase for low-carbon marine technology.
Launched as an offshore racing catamaran in 1983, the vessel subsequently set a series of records and was recognised as the world's fastest racing catamaran in 1994.
From 2014, it underwent a four-year transformation involving some 40 engineers and technicians and 250,000 hours of work, emerging as a floating laboratory for renewable energy technology.
The resulting vessel combines solar power, batteries, automated wind propulsion and hydrogen. Seawater can be desalinated aboard and electrolysed to produce hydrogen, which is compressed and stored before being converted back into electricity through a fuel cell.
Power From Within: Energy Observer shows her distinctive twin-hull form at Crosshaven Boatyard, where the 30-metre catamaran stopped in Cork Harbour last weekend. Photo: Robin Bateman
Around The World On Renewables
Since its launch in its new guise in 2017, the 30-metre by 12.6-metre Energy Observer has travelled extensively as an experimental platform for marine energy technologies.
Its original seven-year odyssey covered 68,800 nautical miles and included 101 stopovers in 50 countries, demonstrating the vessel's renewable-energy systems in real-world ocean conditions.
The project says Energy Observer became the first vessel to complete a round-the-world voyage using a combination of 100 per cent renewable energies and hydrogen produced aboard through the electrolysis of seawater.
Cork Call On New Expedition
The distinctive catamaran is now participating in the project's 2025-2033 programme, with its current 2025-26 mission concentrating on carbon capture across Europe and the North Atlantic.
Energy Observer is due to continue in service until 2027, when the new-generation Energy Observer 3 laboratory vessel is scheduled to take over its role.
Its weekend appearance at Crosshaven provided Cork Harbour observers with an unusual close-up view of a vessel which has spent almost a decade testing alternative approaches to powering ships at sea.
