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We all know the French love a good rebellion. Chances are you’ve fallen victim to the country’s regular air traffic control strikes, and then there was all that ruckus over cake back in 1789.
But that spirit is currently being harnessed for good as a French crew, led by captain Victorien Erussard, is embarking on a six-year voyage around the world aboard the ‘Energy Observer’. It’s the world’s first catamaran powered solely by renewable energy, and produces its own carbon-free power onboard via seawater electrolysis. Very Bond-esque, we know.
As part of its mission to test cutting-edge technologies in extreme conditions, the vessel has already travelled 17,815 nautical miles and visited 25 countries. The aim: to prove carbon-free sea travel can be achieved by 2050. And now, for its forty-seventh stopover, the floating laboratory has docked in London.
The ‘Energy Observer’ will be moored at St Katharine Docks next to Tower Bridge for the next ten days, and members of the public are invited to visit its free exhibition on renewable energy. If previous pop-ups are anything to go by, the ‘Energy Observer village’ will showcase the ship’s technologies and adventures via virtual reality, 360-degree mapping and interactive displays. Green is the new black, people, so you’d better get on board.
Energy Observer will be mored at St Katharine Docks from Oct 5-10.
For more on how London is doing its bit for the environment, here are four ingenious ways that London is harnessing renewable energy. Or check out the best boat trips in London.