By renewing Groupe BPCE’s historic partnership with Energy Observer, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking, alongside Crédit Maritime Grand Ouest and Banque Populaire Grand Ouest, will support the vessel – powered by multi renewable energies – on its new global expedition.
Commencing in 2025 through to 2033 and focused on « A journey to Carbon Neutrality », the expedition was officially launched at the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3).
Antoine Trieux, Industry Banker at Natixis CIB in charge of Low Carbon Energies, shares his conviction about the promising contribution of this partnership toward a carbon-neutral future.
Why is Natixis CIB renewing its partnership with Energy Observer?
This partnership with Energy Observer marks a significant milestone in our commitment to sustainability and innovation, as it aligns with our ambitions to promote new and promising low carbon energies technologies such as solar, batteries, green hydrogen, smart sail propulsion, carbon capture, and soon, decarbonized green ammonia.
Natixis CIB is already one of the leading financiers globally of now mature renewable energies such as solar, wind and hydro. However, we recognize that we must go further and commit to new decarbonization technologies.
For instance, we are placing a significant emphasis on carbon capture, a technology without which we believe it will be difficult to meet net-zero targets. In fact, according to the latest International Energy Agency Net Zero Emissions scenario, carbon capture could represent more than 15% of today's CO2 emissions by 2050. To support the development of this crucial new industry, a dedicated cross-functional task force was established under the responsibility of the low carbon energies sector and lead by Aymeric Chauveau.
Our conviction is fully aligned with the primary mission of the vessel up until end 2026, which will prioritize the analysis of solutions to capture, store, and recover CO₂. Energy Observer will travel across Europe and the North Atlantic to study associated industrial technologies and natural ecosystems capable of sustainably sequestering carbon.
How does Energy Observer specifically contribute to this endeavor?
Energy Observer brings a pragmatic, empirical approach to research, helping to attract the necessary funding for development, convincing public authorities and investors, and reassuring industries as they equip themselves.
In the case of CCUS for instance, its development is still in early stages, primarily due to cost-related challenges: the expenses associated with developing the technology, the costs of capturing carbon itself, which is energy-intensive, and the costs of transporting and storing the captured CO₂, for which the necessary infrastructure is required.
There are also regulatory challenges to overcome; proper policy frameworks are essential. Supportive policy schemes are emerging globally, with around 15 countries now having CCUS policies that extend beyond simple research and development initiatives.
As the first multi renewable energies-powered, zero-emission vessel that is self-sufficient in energy, Energy Observer acts as a floating laboratory for ecological transition, testing and validating innovative low-carbon solutions in real-world conditions.
This empirical, experimental approach proves crucial in supporting reflections and decisions in this field. Energy Observer serves as a technological demonstrator, providing decision-makers with tangible, measurable data on the performance, robustness, and integration of the new technologies we are promoting. This is invaluable for better understanding future industrial and regulatory decisions.
Finally, via Energy Observer, do you intend to foster a low-carbon energy community?
Absolutely. Beyond financial support, our goal is to foster collaboration and enthusiasm around these initiatives. We aim to engage an entire community around the environmental issues that affect us all. Beyond proving the effectiveness of new technologies, we aim to cultivate a community of industrial players and financial investors focused on the challenges of new low carbon energies.
In concrete terms, each stopover will offer the chance to explore innovative renewable energy solutions with industry professionals, researchers, and stakeholders from various backgrounds. We will bring together our clients and stakeholders we interact with on these topics, hoping to deepen our collective understanding of technological innovations and promote them further.
The first stop recently occurred in Marseille on June 27th where our local team could welcome a number of clients from various sectors. While sailing on the boat and test its technologies they could share views on climate change and their own targets towards net zero and strategy to deploy it.
Thank you Antoine
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