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HYDROGEN,
ENERGY OF THE FUTURE
An endless raw material offering rapid, clean, silent
and lightweight refuelling, hydrogen has emerged
as renewable energies’ best friend. The current
challenge of this alternative to fossil fuels, a solution
for the yachting of the future, is in optimising its sto-
rage. The increased demand for hydrogen will lead
to falling costs, and thus economic viability. “More
than 50 nautical projects, including large boats and
ferries, have already invested on hydrogen”, explains
Jérémie Lagarrigue, CEO of the company EODev,
which develops these solutions. “In 2017, this market
was worth 2 billion dollars; by 2050, when hydrogen
production is mature, the national hydrogen plan is
looking at 2.5 trillion dollars and 30 million new jobs”.
© mesi
WITNESSING CHANGE
On his part, the South African explorer Mike Horn is
working on a hydrogen technology equipment pro-
ject for his yacht Pangaea. Having traversed the wil-
dest terrains, sailing 27 times around the world and
witnessing melting glaciers and desertification, he is
working to create completely carbon-free transport. A
driver of change, the adventurer is testing a next-ge-
neration fuel battery which he helped to develop with
CEA-Liten, before facing extreme conditions with his
35-metre yacht: “It wasn’t possible to go to the North
Pole at night. I did it at -50°C. It will be the same with
hydrogen. I want to show that it is a change within
reach, that a yacht can break the ice without emit-
ting CO , that a greener life is possible”. The Monaco © mesi
2
Yacht Club member insisted on the need to “take the IN
leap of major investment to allow the deployment of
hydrogen infrastructure”, reiterating that yachting has SIGHT
a role to play in transforming the use of fossil fuels.
“We need a new source of energy to deal with fossil fuels.
We do not have the time to think about how much it will
cost, there will be no more tomorrows”, Mike Horn.