World’s first green hydrogen producing ‘flying yacht’ unveiled to the public at SailGP
Following DRIFT Energy successfully producing green hydrogen from its hydro foil yacht in sea trials earlier this month, the sailboat and its sister vessel will be on display at SailGP in Plymouth this weekend
DRIFT Energy will be demonstrating its two prototype yachts on water on Friday afternoon and the DRIFT Energy team will be at their exhibition stand in the Fan Zone on Saturday and Sunday
Plymouth, Friday 29 July 2022 - DRIFT Energy will unveil the world’s first flying (hydro-foiling) green hydrogen producing energy yachts to the public at this year’s SailGP in Plymouth, UK.
DRIFT Energy has been invited to the event as SailGP takes a big step forward with its ambition to be the most sustainable global sports league. This year’s SailGP will be the most sustainable on-water event ever with the largest number of electric solutions integrated across the race weekend, as part of SailGP’s target to power its entire on-water fleet by clean energy by 2025.
DRIFT Energy have been invited by SailGP to showcase their world-first technology at this event. Showing off their foiling yacht that produces green hydrogen on board - leaving nothing behind but oxygen. SailGP says “The green hydrogen, having been produced entirely by the power of the wind, could in future form a tangible part of SailGP’s event and on-water clean energy strategy.”
Earlier this month, the sea trials of DRIFT Energy’s ground-breaking energy yachts took place off the coast of Brightlingsea, Essex.
Ben Medland, Founder and CEO, DRIFT Energy says: “We are thrilled to be part of the SailGP's milestone event in their clean energy journey and unveil our green hydrogen producing energy yachts to the public for the first time. It is superb to see sustainability being promoted alongside top tier sailing technology.”
“I also want to thank all DRIFT’s partners. There are many companies and individuals that have shown huge amounts of goodwill towards our mission. They include White Formula, Faculty, OLWG, Kubrick, SumToZero, ZESTAs, BMT Group, Carpmaels and Ransford and McLean HR. They have helped us scale rapidly from concept to reality in under a year. This is a thrilling start to our journey.”
DRIFT Energy’s yachts make green hydrogen on board. Travelling at speeds of up to 25 knots (just under 30mph) spins a propeller beneath the waves, which in turn drives a turbine and produces electricity to split water into green hydrogen and oxygen. DRIFT Energy’s first two prototype vessels are small scale at this stage but DRIFT Energy is looking to scale up the technology. The next versions of the vessels will be capable of producing up to 1MW of green hydrogen.
The engineering behind DRIFT Energy’s yacht design is pioneering. However, the special ingredient is in using a proprietary routing algorithm to find optimal wind and weather conditions at sea to maximize green hydrogen production.
Artificial intelligence firm Faculty, which is working with DRIFT Energy, found that a flotilla of energy yachts, operating from Penzance, could achieve a load factor[1] of 72.5 per cent. Verified load factors for wind turbines in the UK are 26.5 per cent for onshore wind farms and 39.9 per cent for offshore wind farms and 5.7 per cent for marine wave & tidal.[2] DRIFT Energy’s yachts are almost three times as efficient as onshore wind farms.
DRIFT Energy’s first two energy yachts were built by the White Formula of Brightlingsea, a renowned innovative boatbuilder with Olympic gold medal winning pedigree.
The first prototype energy yacht started out as a pre-loved vessel originally made by White Formula, called a ‘Whisper’. Re-use and sustainable build practices are key DRIFT values. The high-performance and stability of the Whisper made a great platform for development.
Demand for green hydrogen in the UK is expected to reach 38 terawatt hours (TWh) by 2030, rising to 165TWh in 2035 and up to 460TWh in 2050[3]. Currently the UK produces around 27 TWh of hydrogen a year, mostly from fossil fuels – so called grey or blue hydrogen[4].
Green hydrogen is critical if the UK is to meet its legally binding commitment to achieve net zero by 2050. Hydrogen can support the deep decarbonization of the UK economy, particularly in ‘hard to electrify’ UK industrial sectors, and can provide greener, flexible energy across power, heat and transport, especially in the marine sector.
According to the respected energy market analysts, Cornwall Insight, the green hydrogen investment opportunity could be worth £23bn by 2030 to meet an annual demand of 10TWh[5].
About DRIFT Energy
The world’s first mobile class of renewable energy
More power, more of the time, in more places, more quickly
DRIFT Energy harvests green hydrogen at sea and transport it globally, leaving nothing behind but oxygen
DRIFT Energy yachts
Generate energy by cruising the world’s oceans
Create green hydrogen via on board electrolysis, which is then is transported safely to port
Distribute energy to where it is needed anywhere in the world
About SailGP 2022
Britain’s Ocean City will host the third event of Season 3 as the most competitive racing on water returns to Plymouth on 30-31 July
[1] Load factor is the ratio of the amount of electricity produced by an energy generating system to its total potential, over a period.
[2] The load factor for wind farms in the UK is calculated by RenewableUK as a rolling average of the past five years using data (on an Unchanged Configuration Basis) from the Digest of UK Energy Statistics published by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, using stats 2016-2020, released in July 2021, https://www.renewableuk.com/page/UKWEDExplained/Statistics-Explained.htm
[3] UK Government’s Hydrogen Strategy, August 2021, page 9, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1011283/UK-Hydrogen-Strategy_web.pdf
[4] Carbon Brief, In-depth: Hydrogen ‘required’ to meet UK net-zero goal, says National Grid, July 2020, https://www.carbonbrief.org/in-depth-hydrogen-required-to-meet-uk-net-zero-goal-says-national-grid/
[5] UK industry could see a low carbon hydrogen demand of ~10TWh in 2030, increasing to up to 37TWh by 2050. According to a new report from Cornwall Insight, Industrial decarbonisation key for UK low carbon hydrogen, https://www.cornwall-insight.com/press/hydrogen-demand-predicted-to-grow-to-10twh-in-2030/