Energy Observer, first hydrogen-powered vessel made stopover in Kochi

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Kochi, Nov 14 Energy Observer, the first hydrogen-powered zero emission vessel, has anchored in Kochi for the 75^th stopover of its round-the-world Odyssey, after a tour of South-East Asia.

The vessel -- powered by renewable energy and hydrogen -- is the first French ambassador for the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations. The vessel came to Kochi after 17 days of sailing and 1,645 nautical miles from Langkawi, Indonesia.

Three-day special workshop

On this occasion, the Energy Management Center (EMC), the state designated agency to enforce energy conservation act in Kerala, is organizing a special event: “Green hydrogen pathways for sustainable future”.

This forum will bring together many Indian institutions to deal with the challenges around green hydrogen development. Industrialists, academics, governmental agencies involved in the energy transition will gather around Energy Observer’s arrival during a 3-day workshop dedicated to the hydrogen value chain such as production, transport, storage, maritime and land applications.

The strategies to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions are becoming clearer and the associated technologies more mature. It is key to accelerate energy transition and the time is running out. It is urgent to demonstrate the coherence of large pilot projects and to massively direct our investments towards low-carbon technologies to make them accessible to all, said Victorien Erussard, captain and founder of Energy Observer.

“We are convinced that green hydrogen plays an essential role in the decarbonization of our economy and the protection of the environment, as part of the latest amendment of the Energy Conservation Act adopted at national level,” R Harikumar, Director of Energy Management Centre.

Lise Talbot Barré, Consul General of France in Pondicherry and Chennai said the vessel’s stopover on Bolgatty Island comes at a time when France and India are strengthening their cooperation to advance carbon neutrality and develop renewable energies. Kerala’s green hydrogen mission has resulted in it being the first state to include hydrogen-powered mobility in its zero-emissions mobility policy.

Low-carbon energy projects

India plans to achieve carbon neutrality and looks forward to a transportation system based on hydrogen fuel cells. France is investing heavily in this field, which opens up new opportunities for scientific and economic cooperation between our two countries. The transition to a low-carbon economy is a priority of the strategic partnership between France and India, Counsel General said.

The Ambassador of France to India, Emmanuel Lenain, said “Energy Observer’s port call in Kochi comes right after France and India adopted a joint roadmap on de-carbonized hydrogen and illustrates the potential of Indo-French cooperation for a just energy transition.”.

Kerala is actively contributing to this roadmap with many projects around clean mobility, energy autonomy and the potential of new sources of low-carbon energy that the audiovisual production team will largely document during the stopover, he added.

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