Sailing Sustainably with Victorien Erussard, Energy Observer

Welcome to Planet & Purpose, a bi-weekly LinkedIn Newsletter featuring professional insights and personal experiences from ocean and climate ecopreneurs, VCs, advocates, and beyond.

If you’re new to my page and this newsletter, welcome! I’m Daniela V. Fernandez , Founder & CEO of Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA).

Today I’m joined by Victorien Erussard : professional sailor, visionary, and Captain & Founder of Energy Observer. 

In our discussion, Victorien shares how his retrofitted catamaran made history circumnavigating the globe using a mix of renewable energy sources. I also get to learn about the challenges and opportunities he and his crew experienced along the epic odyssey, and what’s next for this expert team.

Power up with positivity below, and as always, stay tuned for future editions!

Daniela (DVF): Welcome to Planet & Purpose, Victorien! As organizational partners, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to congratulate you and the Energy Observer team on making history with your 7-year expedition. 

This year, your one-of-a-kind catamaran, the Energy Observer—a retrofitted sailboat and floating laboratory—became the first zero-emission hydrogen ship to have sailed around the world.

On the heels of this accomplishment, it’s the perfect moment to discuss the impact of the expedition, lessons learned, advice for fellow founders, and what’s next for you and your crew!  

Victorien Erussard (VE): Thank you so much, Daniela! It is my pleasure to share what we learned from this unforgettable journey with your readers and the impact we hope to have.

DVF: Before we fully dive in, could you share a bit about your professional journey and what initially inspired your founding of the Energy Observer?

VE: Of course. Earlier in my career as a merchant navy officer and offshore racer, I experienced an energy blackout at sea. This is when I really began questioning the reliability of traditional energy sources.

I became compelled and committed to exploring the renewable transition back in 2013. I wanted to promote sustainable energy solutions and prove a clean future is possible by creating something that had never been attempted (and that many assumed wasn’t feasible).

So, to bring this ambitious, groundbreaking, and technical project to life, I assembled a diverse team of sailors, scientists, engineers, journalists, and numerous dedicated partners. 

Together, we created Energy Observer—a lab vessel dedicated to the sustainable energy transition.

DVF: You and I share a common thread across our origin stories. Well-intentioned naysayers told us our vision wasn’t realistic, that what we dreamed of couldn’t be done. But you did it! 

You and the Energy Observer team have now completed a historic, round-the-world odyssey. Please share key accomplishments on this groundbreaking expedition.

VE: When you have a dream, a conviction, you really have to believe in it to turn that dream into a reality. People actually laughed in my face and called me ‘utopian’ when I first put the idea forward. But since her launch in April 2017, we’ve proven the impossible, possible. 

To date, Energy Observer has traveled over 68,000 nautical miles, made 101 stopovers, visited 50 countries, and circled the Earth THREE times.

Circumnavigating the planet, generating significant press coverage en route, and making strategic stops helped demonstrate clean tech’s effectiveness and promote a low-carbon future.

DVF: When you put it all into numbers, the success is incredible! Speaking of stops, how did you determine destinations where Energy Observer docked?  

VE: Over seven years, we meticulously chose stopovers that would yield maximum impact. Along the way, as the official French Ambassador to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, we met with pioneers and visionaries whose professions are dedicated to developing sustainable solutions.

We also intentionally stopped in destinations with strong and undeniable connections to the impacts of the climate crisis such as Langkawi, Malaysia, where we had the opportunity to bring our two organizations together and invite the SOA Malaysia Hub onboard the vessel during our 2022 Asia route. 

Our entire route was documented publicly for anyone interested in following along. Over seven years, we visited countless noteworthy cities and charted a course to every continent as follows:

• 2017: France
• 2018: Mediterranean
• 2019: Northern Europe
• 2020: Atlantic
• 2021: Pacific
• 2022: Asia
• 2023: Africa
• 2024: North America

DVF: I loved seeing the photos from our Malaysia Hub’s visit with you all. I know it was a highlight of their year! 

Since you ended up in North America before heading back to France and since a large percentage of our audience is in the United States, what strategic U.S. stops did you make?

VE: Quite a few, actually!

In Washington, D.C., we engaged with political leaders on clean energy policy recommendations. 

In New York City, home to the world’s leading stock exchange, we met with Wall Street titans and ultimately emphasized how crucial it is to finance the transition to a decarbonized economy.

In Boston, we engaged with the vibrant ecosystem of universities, meeting with MIT Energy Initiative and the Future Energy Systems Center, among others.

And this year, we had the absolute thrill and honor of celebrating Earth Day live on NBC News.

It was exhilarating to highlight the importance of clean energy through a respected platform to a broad audience, most of whom would not have otherwise been exposed to blue-tech innovation.

Overall, each stop underscored the need for carbon reductions, and many were tied to key global moments and events such as one of our final stopovers in Paris during the 2024 Summer Olympics.

DVF: The impact of this journey has been nothing short of remarkable! What interconnected, renewable energy methods powered Energy Observer's mission?

VE: Our vessel proved itself to be a technological ‘tour de force’, using a custom-built hydrogen fuel cell from Toyota and batteries for zero-emission, zero-fine particles, and zero-noise sailing.

Thanks to our longstanding partnership with Italian solar company Solbian, our batteries were charged via solar at port. Any excess energy generated was then used to produce hydrogen via seawater electrolysis. 

At sea, a mix of solar, wind, and hydroelectric power balanced our energy consumption, while hydrogen extended the ship’s autonomy by converting it back into electricity. We worked with so many leading technologies and many partners to create the unique renewable energy combination onboard, and in doing so, set a new precedent. 

DVF: Piloting something so unconventional, it can’t have been smooth sailing all the way. I imagine you must have faced some challenges on your journey?

VE: Yes, the journey definitely had its hurdles. We refitted the boat multiple times between 2017 and 2020 to cover as much surface area as possible with solar panels. Eventually, we finalized the build with approximately 10,000 photovoltaic cells. We also made technical stops for maintenance of panels that had prematurely aged or became less efficient to extend their life.

We also discovered that high heat and humidity severely impacted performance by up to 20% while traveling around the equator. These are the valuable real-world learnings that lab tests can only simulate.

In 2019, we swapped our more traditional wind turbines for two OceanWings (automated propulsion wing sails).

Naturally, another major challenge came during the COVID-19 pandemic. At one point, we spent more than 70 days at sea identifying a port that would let us dock, extending our mission by a year. 

Rather than accepting defeat, we chose, as always, to chart a new course forward. Instead of opting for the shortest route home, we chose an adventurous path. In doing so, we certainly pushed our technology to its limits, which ultimately enriched our data reserves.

As you can imagine on a seven-year journey, there were many different obstacles (all candidly recorded in our expedition logbook). In all, we were able to leverage them as opportunities. 

Resilience and innovation under pressure were key lessons learned!

DVF: That’s valuable advice for any founder, especially an ecopreneur. If you had to boil down the contributions of Energy Observer to our collective mission for building a sustainable future on Planet Earth, how would you explain it?

VE: Energy Observer exemplifies how innovation can disrupt centuries-old industries and modern technologies to usher in a sustainable future. 

Our odyssey provided the opportunity for scientists and partners to test multiple technologies, working together in real-world conditions. The media generated throughout the expedition then effectively amplified the promising solutions we piloted and the stories of our very real journey, which will prove beneficial for countless maritime and clean energy applications.

DVF: So, what’s next for Energy Observer and the team, now that you’ve accomplished this historic journey? Are there any upcoming developments or milestones you’re working towards?

VE: Yes! I am excited to share that we are actively developing Energy Observer II, a 500-foot container ship that will be powered by liquid hydrogen. It will be the lowest-carbon-emitting cargo ship ever built. Keep an ear to the wind, we plan to set sail in 2026 if all goes according to plan, as announced at the One Ocean Summit in 2022. This is our next big mission. 

After all, if maritime transport were a country, it would be the sixth most polluting in the world, just after Japan and ahead of Germany. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is committed to reducing total annual greenhouse gas emissions from shipping by 50% by 2050.

To get there, we need to innovate, fast.

DVF: Thank you, Victorien—for this trailblazing work and for sharing it with our Planet & Purpose readers. 

VE: Thank you for having me! And thank you for your partnership at Sustainable Ocean Alliance as we work together to move the lines of ecological transition.

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OPPORTUNITIES WITH ENERGY OBSERVER

Want to join the movement and contribute to the positive energies carried by Energy Observer?

Write to us at contact@energy-observer.org.  

OPPORTUNITIES IN SOA’S NETWORK

TONGA RESIDENTS: Apply to the 2025 Blue Prosperity Entrepreneurship Fellowship

Entrepreneurs and sustainable businesses based in Tonga are invited to apply to the 2025 Blue Prosperity Entrepreneur Fellowship—a year-long fellowship to support emerging leaders advancing local ocean and community health in Tonga. 

This fellowship aims to support local ocean-oriented entrepreneurs and sustainable businesses through grants, entrepreneurship training, and mentorship opportunities.

Applicants can receive a grant of up to $8,000 to support their projects as well as access to capacity-building workshops and 1:1 mentorship. Learn more and apply here by November 2, 2024.

This fellowship will run from January to December 2025 and is created in partnership with Sustainable Ocean Alliance, Waitt Institute, Tonga Ministry of Fisheries, and Vava’u Environmental Protection Association (VEPA).

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