DRIFT Energy featured in Back to Blue, an initiative of Economist Impact and The Nippon Foundation

The world’s oceans hold some of the most powerful and consistent winds on the planet — yet most of that energy goes completely untapped. With global offshore wind capacity projected to reach 244 GW by 2030, and energy demand surging from AI infrastructure, electrified transport and heavy industry, the need for scalable renewable solutions has never been greater.

At the same time, global shipping still runs almost entirely on fossil fuels, producing around 3% of global CO₂ emissions while moving 90% of world trade.

A new Economist Impact feature explores how next-generation maritime technology is helping to tackle both challenges at once — including DRIFT Energy’s vision of vessels that don’t consume fuel, but instead generate renewable energy at sea.

DRIFT’s ships use wind propulsion and underwater turbines to produce clean electricity offshore, which is then used to create green hydrogen onboard. The hydrogen is stored, brought back to port, and distributed to support heavy industry and energy systems — leaving nothing behind but oxygen.

It’s a bold, scalable concept: mobile offshore wind farms that follow the best wind conditions, avoid coastal congestion, and unlock deep-ocean energy resources.

We encourage anyone with an interest in better stewardship of our oceans to explore this exceptional article from Back to Blue, an initiative of Economist Impact and The Nippon Foundation.

https://backtoblueinitiative.com/next-generation-vessels-for-a-renewable-energy-future/

Our thanks to Adam Robert Green and Charles Goddard at Economist Impact.