PARIS (AP) — The first self-sufficient boat powered only by emission-free energy will start a six-year trip around the world in the spring.
Energy Observer, a former multi-hull race boat converted into a green vessel equipped with solar panels, wind turbines and a hydrogen fuel cell system, will be powered by wind, the sun and self-generated hydrogen.
The 5 million euro ($5.25 million) boat, which is currently in a shipyard in Saint-Malo, will set sail from the Britany port and will make its first of 101 stops across 50 countries in Paris as part of a six-year circumnavigation.
French environmentalist Nicolas Hulot, who attended the project presentation on Wednesday at the UNESCO headquarters, said this "boat will demonstrate that there are many solutions for energetic transition. All solutions are within nature."
