Hydrogen+. Almatech has developed a “zero-emission” boat, the ZESST. Can you tell us more about this ship and the technologies on board?
Luc Blecha. The ZESST project first responds to the objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the maritime transport sector, but also in passenger transport. The ZESST was developed to operate in highly populated areas where lakes or estuaries are located, but also at sea, along the coasts. Our boat allows you to cross these bodies of water in a straight line rather than going around them, by car for example. It is also zero emissions thanks to hydrogen. The ZESST is also a “foiler”, therefore a hydrofoil vessel, which offers several important advantages: better energy efficiency than a conventional boat (five to fifteen times more efficient) at equivalent speeds; increased speed (around 50 km/h); very pleasant navigation and passenger comfort, because the boat flies over the water thanks to the foils. In addition, the ship is silent. Finally, as it does not create waves, it does not harm the fauna and flora.
The ZESST embeds technologies from the space domain. The embedded materials and algorithms used are thus robust and reliable. We are used to manufacturing structures and mechanisms for satellites. This forces us to develop parts that are very resistant, but also very light. This means that Almatech’s space DNA is transferred to ZESST.
Almatech and E5Lab, Japan’s largest maritime platform, signed an agreement in May 2021. What is it about?
We were interested in Japan because it is a maritime country with nearly 7,000 islands and a large number of shipping lines intended for freight or passenger transport. There are also inland seas. The ideal conditions are therefore met for ZESST. In addition, Japan has launched a very offensive and ambitious hydrogen plan for the decarbonization of the country. Finally, it is resolutely focused on new technologies. The Japanese already have solutions for fuel cells, but also the manufacture of hydrogen in the largest solar-hydrogen factory in the world, in Fukushima. We are approaching Japanese companies for the adoption of ZESST and to work on the incorporation of Japanese technologies for our European boats. We have several projects in progress, mainly in the field of smart cities. We also hope to present a ZESST demonstrator during the Osaka World Expo in 2025. Our ZESST project fits perfectly into the smart, low-carbon, technological and high-density city.
