01x05 - Maritime

[bunniefuu]

[dramatic music]

With ever greater concerns

about global warming,

the world's shipping industry
is facing a major challenge.

If it were a country, it would
be the sixth largest producer

of greenhouse gas emissions.

At current growth rates, if we do nothing,

those emissions could
double or even triple by 2050.

[waters roaring]

So is there anything we can do about this?

The good news is, yes there is.

[upbeat music]

A global industrial revolution is underway.

Yes.

We have a technological
challenge for our environment

for the wellbeing of the
population and the planet

for civilization

Driven by passionate,
dedicated individuals,

intent on shaping a new world.

I do it because I look at my kids

and I honestly, I'm
convinced that this is the way.

A cleaner world.

There is a way forward,
other than burning fossil fuels

out of our funnels.

A greener world.

This wind farm,

is producing more hours
of power into the grid,

than all wind farms in the UK

and probably in the world.

What we've done in the past,

is not going to solve these challenges.

We need to find new ways

and I think the only way to do that

is to bravely step forward
and implement technology.

Together,

they are pushing engineering to its limits,

to create extraordinary machines
that can protect our planet

for the future.

[somber music]

[somber music continues]

Gavin Allwright,

represents a growing number
of technology developers,

shipbuilders and operators

intent on reshaping the
future of global shipping

by harnessing a resource

that has transported
humankind for millennia.

So it's strange.

When we look at wind farms or wind turbines

we see those now as modern,
renewable energy solutions

but when our mind's eye
turns to wind-powered vessels,

we think of that as being old-fashioned.

Now there are still traditional
sailing vessels out there,

delivering cargo,

but there's a whole new
breed of naval architects,

designers,

who are using cutting edge technologies

to power the vessels of the future.

[upbeat music]

This is Black Pearl,

the world's largest sailing yacht.

Many in the shipping industry,

believe she could form the blueprint

for a new generation of
commercial sailing ships.

It's been two years,

since this extraordinary
vessel took to the sea

and having proved herself
on the world's oceans,

she's returned to Holland
where she was built

for what can best be
described as, some fine tuning.

[fast upbeat music]

It works well.

But having said that,

one of the reasons we're here in Amsterdam

is that we're tweaking, we're improving

because we believe we can make it better.

Chris Gartner, skipper of Black Pearl

appreciates more than most,

the ancestry of this


The inspiration comes from
the clipper ships, for sure.

The Cutty Sark or the Stad Amsterdam,

the high-speed that they travel,

super efficient easy in the wind.

To give some idea of just how efficient

these clipper ships were.

We need to look no further
than the Flying Cloud.

In 1854, she set the world
record for the fastest passage

between New York and San Francisco.



That record stood for 130 years.

It was only surpassed in 1989.

This was a vessel with
no motors or engines at all.

Large wind vessels were still operating

right up until World w*r II.

These ships were seriously fast.

Some of the clippers could exceed 20 knots.

Many modern ships don't do that.

The old sailing ships
did require a large crew.

On deck, they'll run with about 16 people

and they can drop all
their sails or set their sails

in approximately 25 minutes.

Then carbon fiber came,
then the game changed.

Voila! Will you come with the DynaRig?

We can maneuver the
boat at sea with one person.

[slow gentle music]

The DynaRig system utilizes rotating masts

to achieve the optimal
position for its square sails.

First conceived of in the 1960s,

it was not until 40 years later

that there were materials
strong and lightweight enough

to be up to the job.

Towering 232 feet above the waterline,

Black Pearl's three enormous masts,

are the largest example of the system,

by quite some margin.

They are built to be free-standing

and they're like a big
carbon fiber fishing pole.

We carry 2,900 square meters a sail area

which we can deploy in
just over seven minutes.

But more importantly,

we can furl them away
or close all the sails

in just under seven minutes.

Being able to react quickly

to changing wind conditions,

makes for more efficient
sailing and greater energy saving.

And what's more, it's all
done by remote control.

Basically, you have to
take three big deep breaths

before you really start
exerting your finger.

No, but it's as simple as that.

What does it feel like when
we are sailing this boat?

It's incredible.

Just over 24 knots is our
max under sails, so far.

Prediction is with the
right winds and stuff,

we should reach 28, 30 knots.

Which is the equivalent

of over 34 miles per hour.

Well, I think we had a classic example

on our very first voyage from Rotterdam

down to Gibraltar,

where one of the Portuguese
coastal stations called us up,

"Black Pearl, Black Pearl.

Can you please confirm
that you are a sailing vessel?"

"Yes, we are a sailing vessel"

and there was a slight pause there,

then there was this,

"Black Pearl, Black Pearl,
are you actually sailing?

"Yes, we are actually sailing."

And at the time we were
doing 22 knots, I think it was,

and passing all the cruise
ships, the container ships

and the tankers and motorboats

and they just couldn't believe it.

That was a great trip. [chuckles]

But the designers of Black Pearl

were determined to take
things a stage further.

When under sail, the propellors of the ship

can be used as underwater
turbines, generating electricity.

[engines purring]

Let's have a look in the engine room.

This is our main engine
ramp, starboard main engine.

Attached to this is the gearbox.

And over this side, our electric motor

which gives our electric propulsion

when we wanna drive off batteries.

So we have the option of
running on diesel or electric

or a combination of both, which
gives us our maximum speed.

So obviously when we're driving the boat,

the propulsion is that way.

When we're sailing and regenerating,

the power comes back through the shaft

into the electric motor here

and is then distributed to
the IEC distribution board

at the front of the engine room

and that's how we get
her our battery power.

In here we have the starboard battery room,



A motorboat might do 17, 18
knots as its maximum speed

but majority of the time

a motorbike is cruising at 12

because that's the
optimum for fuel consumption

and everything else.

So for us to be able to
do that and regenerate

and not use fossil fuels is very cool.

Currently,

the team are looking to add solar panels

either to the superstructure
or flexible ones in the sails

and the ship has already been pre-wired

to accept both options.

I think the ambition,
right at the beginning

was to be the first and set
an example to our industry

and commercial shipping
is taking it very seriously

Beyond yachting,

the DynaRig can move into
the commercial side of shipping.

There's already many studies done

for having multiple DynaRigs
placed on large ships

And a sailing boat can go
everywhere a motorboat can go

just nicer, quieter, and no pollutions.

[airplane engine roars]

Now the good news is,

the International Maritime
Organization, the IMO,

has set an ambitious target,

to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by at least 50%,

by the year 2050.

Now some shipping companies
have gone beyond that,

with more ambitious targets

to be carbon neutral by that year.

But to make it happen,

will require a radical transformation.

Let me give you a few
shipping facts to set the scene

to show where shipping is at the moment.

Over 90% of world trade
is carried across our oceans

by anywhere up to 90,000 large ships.

The fuel burned by many of these ships

is called heavy fuel oil.

That's a toxic sludge,
that's highly polluting.

Shipping however, is the most efficient way

of moving large quantities
of goods around the world,

by far.

Now, obviously we can't
change things overnight.

So we need to be looking
at transition technologies,

ones that take into
account that very few people

have retained those skills
to operate traditional sails.

We need to be looking at modern solutions

Just 40 miles away,

from where Black Pearl is currently moored,

lies the Marine Research
Institute, Netherlands,

better known as MARIN.

It's a world-renowned organization,

which for over 80 years has
provided the maritime industry

with expertise and independent advice.

Today, they are at the
forefront of research

into sustainable marine propulsion.

One mistake that many people do

is to think that the wind is pushing a sail

and that's why it's hollow

and that's why you're going forward.

Actually, it's working with
suction, not with pushing.

The wind is blowing.

You have a flow coming on a given object

and this object is diverting the flow

and creating on one side, a high velocity,

and on the other side,
a lower, smaller velocity.

It's known as the Bernoulli Principle,

after an 18th century Swiss mathematician

called Daniel Bernoulli.

He discovered that
the faster of fluid flows,

the lower the pressure.

It's why a wing creates
lift on an aircraft.

The shape of the wing makes
the air flow at a faster speed

on the upper surface,
creating lower pressure

and effectively sucking the wing upwards.

In the 1980s,

designers began experimenting
with rigid wings on boats.

So it started with simple,
smaller sails in area

but with a metal rigid profiles.

And then some engineer
pushed the idea further

and only looked at the way
lifting surfaces is working

Collaborating

with the famous undersea
explorer, Jacques Cousteau,

two French engineers
came up with a rigid sail

which had a perforated
outer surface and inside a fan

which created suction
affecting the boundary layer.

This amplified the pressure difference

and increased the lift effect,

making it four times more effective

than the best conventional
sails of the same size.

And people who are
looking at traditional sails,

cannot believe that a pillar,

just a round thing can produce lift.

But it's a very smart
and very powerful system.

And then this invention
was just left on the side

and never used again.

Five, six years ago, we made presentation

to try to revive the idea

because we were believing
that was a very smart system.

And my hope, was that at
least one person in the room

would raise his hand and say,

"Well, this is a nice idea.

I will pick it up and apply it on ships."

One man who did just that,

was Frank Nieuwenhuis.

We first started on scale models.

The first one I took on top of my car

in order to see if the
suction's actually working.

There's quite some technology

to combine an airplane wing

which is only the wind
always comes from one side

and in sailing, sometimes
it comes from one side,

sometimes it comes from the other side.

Also the suction
technology is quite difficult

and we needed to that
all in the right balance.

And of course, all of this
we wanted to get ready

as quickly as possible.

What they really needed,

was access to an
immensely powerful computer,

able to handle the hugely
complex calculations

associated with air flow and pressure.

Luckily for them, just such
a computer is to be found

at the MARIN Test Facility.

We have been working
with them on the calculations

to further optimize the profile.

The amount of suction you should apply

to boost the performance.

The effects of the heights of the sail.

And then they studied,
how does this suction work?

How does the angles work
and what is the right shape?

And they've been extremely helpful

But even with access to a supercomputer

you still need to conduct
physical experiments.

And if a car worked for a small model

there was no reason not to try it

with something a little larger.

Our approach is to
have a little bit of saving

on many ships

and we try therefore to make systems

that can be installed on the ships

that are already out on the sea today.

We don't have to wait to build new ships.

And if we want to save quickly in shipping,

we have to install something fast and easy,

things that are produced
on an industrial scale,

that gives you the result.

One of the key issues of this wing,

is that this big ventilator

is sucking out the air from the wing.

And by that, influencing
the airflow around the wing.

And it's done through
these little holes here

which run all the way through the wing.

And this ventilator just expels the air

and throws it outside in the bottom

creating vacuum in the wing

and influencing the
airflow around the wing.

So one of the most
challenging things really

is to get this big ventilator,

two and a half thousand kilos of steel

inside this wing construction.

And it has to be glued in and
connected to the bolts here.

And once it goes in, we
only have 10, 15 minutes

before it has to be perfectly aligned.

[light upbeat music]

One of the first ships to adopt the system

is the freighter, Anke.

You can push the start button

and it will sense where the wind is

and it will position itself
correctly, relative to the wind.

This wing can actually
tack as they say in sailing.

So depending if the
wind is on the left side

or on the right side,

would change the shape of the wing

and the boundary layer is being sucked away

from the other side.

And if you suck away this boundary layer,

then you influence the rest of the airflow.

And with the sails in operation,

the captain can reduce engine power

and still maintain the same speed.

When the ship changes direction,

the wings are following
the change in the direction.

They will always keep the
same heading towards the wind.

So the captain doesn't have to do anything

other than to decide
he wants to sail or not.

The system's already proven itself

to be both rugged and effective.

From the tempestuous
seas off the African coast

to the Arctic conditions
of Northern Europe.

Best as any sailor knows this,

that when you have half wind

so the wind comes from the side,

then the effect of wind
propulsion is the best.

But when it's from 25 degrees
to about 180 degrees, it works

But Frank and his team
weren't finished there.

They had the idea to make something,

all together, more portable.

[door thudding]

So this is where the
magic is going to happen.

This is the container.

There will be one wing here

and there will be one wing down here

and in the end they will
open up and start saving fuel.

This is the MS Royale, a container barge

plying the route between
Amsterdam and Harlingen.

What happens is, with a normal crane,

they put the container on the ship.

And then we press a
button and the wings flap out.

So at that moment it's already installed.

Which means that any ship

with a space for container

could theoretically install a
system quickly and easily.

The team at Econowind,

estimate that in optimum conditions,

a ship could reduce fuel
consumption by as much as 25%.

However, as the wind
is not always consistent,

they predict a still impressive
average saving of around 10%

In maritime sector

is pretty conservative for good reasons.

I mean, this is a very harsh environment

so it's difficult to introduce innovation

in the maritime segment.

So I'm extremely happy

to see that this very smart invention

is now applied again on more ships.

And we're actually
discussing now about a system.

It will be 20 meters high.

One wing will be about
two and a half times,

the total force of the two wings,

which are in the container.

What we need for wind
propulsion to be taken seriously

is not just one or two
companies out there doing it.

We need a vibrant, thriving industrial base

with many companies
delivering many new technologies.

[upbeat music]

This is the M/V Copenhagen.

Together with her sister ship, Berlin,

she operates on the busy route

between Rostock on Germany's Baltic Coast

and the Danish port of Gedser.

Built in 2016, they're two
of the largest hybrid ferries

in the world,

able to carry 1300 passengers and 460 cars.

Well, welcome to the battery room

of the hybrid ferry Copenhagen.

A hybrid ferry,

is a ferry that has a
battery system installed

to supply energy when it's needed

and to store energy when it's not needed

Scandlines estimate
that their hybrid systems

reduce CO2 emissions
by up to 15,000 tons a year

the same amount as produced

by over 340 average German households

And the journey doesn't stop here.

It is our overall ambition to
operate zero emission ferries,

but due to the energy
requirements for a two-hour voyage,

it is much more complicated

and it's all of the small
things that add up.

As efficient as she is,

Copenhagen wasn't originally designed

to make use of the free and abundant energy

that wind provides.

But tonight, all that is about to change.

Once the passengers leave the ship,

she'll make her way to the nearby dock

and be fitted, not with a sail,

but with a device first
conceived of over a century ago,

which works on a principle
known as the Magnus effect.

[light upbeat music]

The Magnus effect,

gets its name from a German physicist

named Heinrich Gustav Magnus.

In 1853,

he was investigating the
reason why spinning objects,

traveling through the air,
such as a spinning ball,

don't move in a straight line

but actually follow a curved path.

So what you have, for
example, on the football

you have the forward velocity of your ball

which is rotating,

and the flow sees two pattern.

On one side, the high velocity

on the other side a low velocity,

so a lower and a higher pressure

and through the pressure
difference, you have a site force

and that's why with spinning a ball,

you can give a certain trajectory.

If you take a mast, a vertical cylinder

which is rotating in wind,
you will have the same effect

In the 1920s,

a German aircraft engineer
named Anton Flettner

with a little help from a
certain Albert Einstein,

came up with the idea
of using just such a device

to propel a ship.

[upbeat music]

By 1924, they'd retrofitted a schooner,

with two rotors driven
by an electric motor,

enabling it to travel at 10 knots.

Having proved the concept worked,

they went on to create
a three rotor freighter

but the great depression,
an abundance of cheap fuel

and no pressure on carbon emissions

meant the idea was all
but doomed, for decades.

But there was one legacy.

Even today, these spinning cylinders

are still called, Flettner rotors.

It's just such a device,

that's to be fitted to the Copenhagen.

But this mega rotor is twice
the size of those originals.

Standing 98 feet high
and 16 feet in diameter,

it's built by Norsepower, a Finnish company

who specialize in this technology.

It's an exciting day.

Even with careful planning for months

there's always something you
can't, perhaps, see in advance.

One angle to it,

is that we have people
speaking three four languages

and people from three four nationalities

working together here.

The reason why Copenhagen and Berlin

are the perfect ships for this,

and in this case, we are
trying it out on Copenhagen,

is because our ships
are trading North-South

and the predominant wind is westerly wind.

So to have the best
result out of a rotor sail

like this one,

the wind should be perpendicular

to the direction of the ship.

So it is the best conditions
to test something like this.

But for the system to be effective,

it must be commercially viable.

Such a valuable financial
asset as a large ship,

cannot afford to sit idle,

while engineering work is carried out.

Even now trucks booked
to travel on the Copenhagen,

the following morning,

are already driving
across Europe to meet her.

For the installation team,

it's going to be a race against the clock.

To enable the operation,

to be completed as quickly
and as efficiently as possible,

the team from Norsepower

have already installed
the steel rotor foundation

along with the control
system and power supply.

With this massive piece of equipment,

we need to be extremely careful

that everything is done right.

[upbeat music]

I had a long checklist that I went through

line by line,

to make sure that everything
is correctly attached.

Weighing 42 tons, precision is vital.

The placement of the rotor

has to be millimeter perfect

to enable it to fit
correctly to its foundation.

The rotor produces such massive forces

that it needs to be connected
with hundred really big bolts.

It's a job that can only be undertaken

by a crew working inside the rotor.

These bolts will need to cope

with a 300kN force,

the water could potentially generate.

That's the equivalent of
the pressure of over 30 tons

being acted upon by gravity.

We are extremely excited,

to finally see this project
become a realization now.

And to me and my colleagues,

this is a way of really showing
that there is a way forward,

other than burning fossil
fuels out of our funnels,

because it's extremely feasible.

The team will now work through the night

connecting the electrical
system and tightening bolts.

And tomorrow, the testing will begin.

If successful, it could mark
a new era for Scandlines

whose combined fleet transports

seven and a half million passengers

and over two and a half
million vehicles every year.

But the team at Norsepower are well aware

that many other shipping
companies around the world

will be taking a very keen interest.

But some ports present certain challenges

to the concept.

Challenges that must be overcome,

if Flettner rotors are going
to be adopted universally.

At a test facility on the wind-swept coast

of North Eastern England,

British company Anemoi,
have developed a system

to address just such problems.

The Anemoi journey began over a decade ago

with a environmentally driven ship owner

and a group of shipping professionals,

who embarked on a mission
to develop technology,

that would benefit the industry
through reduced emissions.

It was a program that would take place

across the world

and involve extensive investigation

into the way wind flowed
around a ship's infrastructure.

It was during this period,
that a renewed interest

in the potential of Flettner rotors began

and work was undertaken to
develop an automated system,

compatible with the demands
of 21st century shipping.

The initial testing involved
scale model testing,

with use of wind tunnel
and 25 to one scale models

at South Hampton, Warsash Academy,

where actually the scale model vessels

managed to reach a speed of 17 knots

with no engine power on the lake tests.

It was an invaluable proving ground.

This renowned training
facility attracts ships' captains

from around the world

because the handling
characteristics of these large models

perfectly mimics their
full size counterparts.

Having perfected the theory,

Anemoi's decision as to
where to put it into practice,

certainly can't be
described as the easy option.

They chose the bulk carrier market.

When developing solutions
for these ship-types,

the crane operations govern so much.

So having a large static
structure on the deck of the ship

would not be an idea that
you could sell to anybody.

[rotors whirring]

A folding rotor

was one of a number of options developed

and being able to test
prototypes such as this one,

over long periods of time,

has provided a wealth of
essential performance data.

The maximum RPM of this particular rotor,

you can see in the background is 450 RPM.

Now the relationship between
wind speed and rotor RPM

is quite important in
terms of the performance.

The surface speed of the rotor, typically,

has to be somewhere
between three and five times,

the wind speed.

That's pretty much the general target

But the owners of the 64,000 ton MV Afros

needed something even more flexible.

They needed the ability
to actually move the rotors.

So we developed a new solution

which enables the rotors to be transported

along the deck forward aft
to avoid cargo operations.

The system employs a series of trolleys

on rails.

When the ship is loading or unloading,

the rotors can be moved into positions

which best suit cargo operations,

whether that be offshore or in port.

Upon leaving, the rotors are then moved

into their operational position

and mechanically logged onto the deck.

The system is very easy to
operate for the crew on board.

The system takes care of
most facets of the operation

including starting and stopping,

choosing what rotational speed to go out

which direction to rotate in.

Effectively the crew can
turn the rotors on leaving port.

The control system will
take care of everything.

So for the crew, it's a very simple task.

Flettner rotors provide
most thrust in stronger winds.

Our rotors have been
designed to operate safely

in wind speeds up to 35 meters per second,

which is a very strong wind.

They have also been designed
to operate in heavy weather,

when the ship motions are quite large.

The wind direction also plays its part

and the ideal wind direction
is from the beam of the vessel.

So coming from 90 degrees or just behind.

In those conditions,
strong winds from the beam

you end up with very high fuel savings.

And the savings in fuel,

means a corresponding
reduction of emissions.

We believe that the savings

can be anywhere between five and 30%,

depending on a number of variables.

I think in shipping, as you've
seen with the wind industry

and the wind turbine industry,

bigger is proving to be better,

but with ships there are
limitations on operations.

So there will be a ceiling
of where you can go

with wind propulsion,

but I don't think we've
reached that ceiling yet.

[dramatic music]

Back in the Baltic,

the new silhouette of the M/V Copenhagen

has been drawing much
attention in the shipping world.

The rotor installation was
scheduled to be completed

in just one night.

With the ship needed in
service the following morning,

there was no margin for error.

Remarkably though,

the team was able to
meet this ambitious target

with room to spare.

It didn't last more than,
I will say, 10 hours or so,

then the rotor was on boarded

and we could go again.

At the moment, it's the height of summer,

when the prevailing
winds are at their lightest

but the crew have wasted
no time in testing the system,

ready for when the winds become stronger.

[fast upbeat music]

Of course, the idea with this rotor

is that it's fully automatic.

So normally we do not have to do anything,

it just runs in the background.

We have done some
testing to prove efficiency.

On a cruising,

we have been stopping the
rotor, see what will happen.

And we realized that the ship speed

went down with half a knot.

Then we started again and
we gained the half a knot.

So it actually works.

We still need to see the good season for it

but we have already seen promising results

With installation of this rotor,

the expectation is that
we will save up to 5%

on our fuel line

but a 5% fuel saving is
also a 5% emissions saving.

Although the rotor may be huge,

its control panel is remarkably small.

It not only automatically controls

when and how fast to spin the rotor,

but it also provides valuable data

about all aspects of its performance.

But how has such a large addition

to the superstructure
affected the ship's handling?

We feel a little difference. It's not much.

We can see when the rotor starts,

then the ship will heel a little.

In high winds, it will yield more

up to two degrees, we have seen.

So the one thing we have to do,

every time the rotor starts,

is that we have to move some balance water.

So for our customers, they will not notice

because this ship will always be even keel.

And we can see when we have high winds

in Gedser our smallest port,

we also feel that we
have to work a little more

with the maneuvering.

In the same way,

that a wheel of a car requires balancing

to avoid vibration.

So the giant spinning rotor

has required a little fine tuning, as well

but that has been finally completed today.

Now when we have made the last corrections

that makes it possible to run even faster

the most optimum speed with the rotor.

We acknowledge it's a technology

that has been around for a hundred years

but so far, very few commercial operators

have had the courage to actually try it

in a live environment.

We sincerely believe that
we are in the right spot,

we are the right size of
ship to make this a success.

I can't explain how thrilled I am,

to be given the opportunity
to run a project like this

which will be allowed to do things

that are good for the environment.

It's good for the company as well.

And it draws a lot of positive attention,

we have to say.

It is fantastic in all respects

But it's not just how ships are propelled,

that is currently undergoing a revolution.

It's also where they sail, and when.

In the 21st century,

we have advantages that even 50 years ago

would have been unthinkable

By making use of ocean currents,

it's possible for ships to make
significant energy savings.

But how do you monitor
these ever-changing current

in real time,

in order to be of use to ships' captains?

Our system is about measuring
oceans' surface currents

by observing how the
vessels, ships are behaving.

Always they move around

and we do that by analyzing
marine traffic information.

So every single commercial
vessel has a beacon

which broadcasts real
time, its position, its speed

and some information.

It's called AIS, Automated
Identification System,

which is to avoid
collision between vessels.

We utilize 120,000 vessels,

continuously sailing around the world

and sending their
position every two minutes.

And this information is collected

by some telecommunication satellites.

And we get this data into our server

and with our processing systems.

So we learn with some
machine learning algorithm

from the ways the vessels are behaving.

And we deduce the ocean current

that the vessels are going through.

And with access to accurate information

about currents,

ships' captains can alter course

to either avoid adverse currents

or take advantage of favorable ones.

It's estimated that if
applied to shipping globally

it could reduce fuel and emissions by 5%.

However, on some routes,

those savings can
increase to as much as 15%.

And this is just on
conventional powered ships

without taking into account
the additional benefits

that wind-assisted propulsion would bring.

But for global industries,

which have grown used
to a just-in-time delivery

of parts and materials,

there are still huge
questions to be resolved,

if we are to achieve a new greener future.

What if there's no wind

or the wind's blowing
in the wrong direction?

Well, in that case, we
need a hybrid approach.

[light gentle music]

This is Energy Observer,

a French vessel, which is halfway through

an extraordinary seven year odyssey

Energy Observer is a floating laboratory.

The idea is to test different
technologies constantly

and improve them as we work hand-in-hand

with the maritime industry

to help them find ways
to limit their impact.

It's also a media boat.

So the idea is to be able to
communicate and educate people

about renewable energy, everywhere we go.

So the boat evolves all the time

and it's a work in progress.

The project is the brainchild

of master mariner, Victorien Erussard

and journalist filmmaker and
explorer, Jerome Delafosse

and the boat, reflecting
the ethos of the mission,

is, of course, recycled.

Energy Observer was
built in 1983 in Canada.

Her first name was Formule TAG.

And it was one of the first
big, big racing catamarans

and it's basically a boat
that we completely refitted.

I mean, the boat was wreck when we got it.

Turning a racing machine

into a laboratory meant
doubling its weight to 30 tons

which in turn required
putting in extra foam

to keep it afloat,
but it was necessary,

as it gave the boat the
ability to install, test and adapt

a wide variety of technology.

But as with all experiments,

it's often as useful to
see what doesn't work.

For example, we try the
vertical axis wind turbines

and I think it's not a
solution for this type of ship.

Other things have worked so well

that the decision was
taken to increase their use.

At the beginning, we had
only 100 square meters

of solar panels

and now we have more
than 200 square meters.

The good thing about Energy Observer

is that they're prepared
to try new approaches,

new technologies

that may not be ideal for them

but could be solutions for others.

The kite system is a solution,

but it's not a solution
for us at the beginning

because we sail along the European coast

and is a solution for
the off shore navigation,

for example, when you cross the Atlantic

and after we want to
try another technology,

and it's impossible on this ship,

to keep all the technology

because [indistinct] the
weight is too important.

While kite sails,

may not have been ideal
for the Energy Observer,

they are being tested on larger ships.

One benefit being, that
they're an off the deck system.

An off the deck system

means they don't take
up valuable deck space,

which could be very beneficial

for things like container vessels.

Having now been fitted

with highly efficient rigid
sails called Oceanwings,

Energy Observer can use its
propeller and electric motors

to generate electric power while sailing,

much like Black Pearl.

However, what has got so
many in the maritime world excited

is what they do with the
electricity they generate.

With that energy,

we take sea water, we
desalinize it, we de-mineralize it.

Then it goes through a electrolyzer,

which divides the molecule
of water into H2 and oxygen.

The oxygen we let go

and then we'll be compressing
the hydrogen in eight tanks,

which are at the front of the boat.

And this ship, Energy Observer,

she's the first ship ever to
make her hydrogen onboard

Working with Toyota,

they installed a new, highly
efficient hydrogen fuel cell,

which uses the hydrogen
they create and store,

to produce electricity

which can then be used to
power the electric motors.

The maintenance of
these type of technologies

are very, very easy.

You don't have [indistinct],
you don't have noise.

You don't have a fine particles
everywhere on the ship,

so it's very clean.

So it's really the future.

When we started Energy Observer,

the maritime industry
was kind of laughing at us.

I think people were like "Yeah, whatever."

I mean, this is just-

It's peanuts. It's never gonna work,"

but because we've proved the energy mix

that we've implemented on the ship works,

they're really interested.

And now they're like,

"Oh, so how can we implement?

How can we have hydrogen on board?

How can we add solar panels?

How can we reduce our emissions

by using the Oceanwings, for instance?"

So we're only at the
beginning of this phase

but it's very, very exciting.

So successful has this project been

that it spawned Energy
Observer developments

which is creating a range
of commercial applications

based on lessons learned.

From hydrogen generators

to floating green hydrogen fuel stations.

But the crew know from
firsthand experience,

it's a race against time.

And one that none of us can afford to lose.

When you see the glaciers,
it's absolutely breathtaking.

But at the same time,

you know that the
polar bears are all dying,

then that the glaciers are all melting,

so you know how fragile they are

because they're all
disappearing, as we're exploring

Thanks to the efforts

and research of just such pioneers,

there are now many in the shipping industry

that are daring to believe

that the next decade could
be one of transformation.

So a lot of people ask me,
is this really going to happen?

Is this not just a fantasy?

Well, my answer to that
is, it's already happening.

Year on year, we're
seeing momentum growing,

a doubling of installations, every year.

And that trend is set to continue.

Really, it's not only transition

and energy transition pattern,
but it's really a revolution.

So we are going to see new type of ships

but what people will mainly see, I think,

is the fact that large wind power device

will be installed on board the ships.

The bigger, the better.

If you want to catch a lot of wind

you will need at the end, quite some area.

There might not be
sails like the Cutty Sark

but I think this will be quite
welcomed by everybody,

to see sails again on ships.

Can wind do the heavy lifting on its own?

Of course not.

Alternative low carbon
and zero emissions fuels

are really going to be necessary too.

We know that we will need
different types of power,

so the new vessels will
be much more complex,

I would say, in terms of
design and engineering

because they will have to cope

with different sources of energy.

You will have to handle them smartly,

typically with the wind

because the shortest route
will not be the best route.

It's been estimated that by 2050,

wind could provide up to a
third of the energy required

by the maritime industry,

with some new designs on certain routes,

getting as much as 80% of
their energy from the wind.

Well by 2050, we could be seeing vessels

that have far more hydrodynamic
and aerodynamic hulls.

The hull itself functioning
as a wing sail, perhaps.

We will be seeing things
like kites and suction wings

being standard equipment on vessels.

We need to dare to go
ahead at very high pace,

so that means also taking risks.

But, we have no choice, it has to happen

and it has to happen extremely quickly.

At this moment, in terms of climate change

or loss of diversity

and all the issues
related to human activity.

I mean, it would be hard
to make larger mistakes.

The basket of solutions

that we see coming for shipping,

will allow to transport goods
from A to B on the planet

without producing any harmful emissions.

And this is a very nice
horizon, not only for the shipping,

but for all mankind.

[upbeat music]