The Ocean & Climate Odyssey continues the Foundation’s commitment by combining scientific research, awareness-raising, and maritime innovation.
Aboard the MODX70, a silent zero-emission catamaran, this international adventure rolled out in multiple missions through 2030 aims to better understand and raise awareness of the interdependencies between the ocean, climate, and biodiversity, with a particular emphasis on preserving blue carbon sinks essential to climate regulation. It also seeks to mobilize the maritime sector around concrete decarbonization solutions.
From the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, via the Caribbean, each mission will serve as a space for cooperation and collective action, designed to place the ocean at the heart of the decisions shaping our future.
| EMBLEMATIC REGIONS TO UNDERSTAND AND PROTECT THE OCEAN
The regions selected for the Ocean & Climate Odyssey, the Mediterranean, the North Atlantic, and the Caribbean, represent three essential natural laboratories for studying the interactions between the ocean, climate, and human activities.
The Mediterranean, a semi-enclosed sea under strong urban and maritime pressures, concentrates the challenges of the ecological transition: exceptional biodiversity coexists with pollution, overfishing, and rapidly warming waters. As a pilot region, it allows the observation of global oceanic dynamics on a smaller scale.
The Atlantic, home to major currents and thermohaline circulation, plays a key role in regulating the global climate. Its deep water masses, exposed Atlantic coasts, and migratory ecosystems provide an ideal setting to assess the impact of global changes on ocean stability and biodiversity.
The Caribbean, finally, comprises a fragile archipelago where coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass meadows interact closely to protect coasts and store carbon. This region illustrates both the vulnerability and resilience of tropical environments in the face of climate disruption.
By connecting these territories through successive campaigns, the Race for Water Foundation aims to deepen scientific knowledge of oceanic balances, foster dialogue between science and action, and accelerate the emergence of concrete solutions for a living ocean and a preserved climate.
| FIRST INTERNATIONAL PROJECT: POSIDONIA CONNECT
The Posidonia Connect project, born from an initial collaboration on the French Mediterranean coasts in 2025 and now jointly led by GIS Posidonie and the Race for Water Foundation, stands as a key pillar of the Ocean & Climate Odyssey. This project brings together researchers, managers, institutions, NGOs, and economic actors from several countries around a shared ambition: to establish a common assessment of the health status of posidonia meadows and harmonize evaluation methods across the Mediterranean according to an ecosystem-based approach. A first pilot mission was carried out in Italy in 2026 aboard the zero-emission MODX70 catamaran, enabling multidisciplinary teams to conduct scientific campaigns, experiment with common protocols, and consolidate a foundation of knowledge essential for the conservation of this marine habitat of general interest.
Beyond research, the project includes a public awareness campaign targeting diverse audiences to highlight the importance of preserving these blue carbon sinks, key ecosystems for our climate resilience. By 2030, the goal is to extend this approach across most of the Mediterranean basin in order to build a robust and homogeneous indicator, in response to the requirements of European directives and the Barcelona Convention, to better address conservation challenges and sustainable management of marine ecosystems.
AN AMBASSADOR SHIP THAT PROVIDES SOLUTIONS
This zero-emission, noise-free catamaran, designed by Océan Développement, is not just any boat. Designed and built in France by passionate experts, the MODX 70 embodies a new way of sailing, clean, efficient, and committed.
Thanks to its fully zero-emission propulsion system, this catamaran generates no greenhouse gases or atmospheric pollutants, actively contributing to ocean preservation. A true concentrate of innovation, it combines wind propulsion with two inflatable, retractable, and automated Aeroforce wings, and electric propulsion powered by solar energy and hydrogen generation. This clean mode of navigation is also silent, greatly reducing noise pollution, thus minimizing its impact on marine ecosystems, particularly on aquatic fauna sensitive to the sounds produced by traditional engines.
The collaboration between Océan Développent, Aeroforce and the Race for Water Foundation is a perfect alliance for avant-garde and engaging projects.By nature, this vessel serves as an exceptional platform for scientific missions, raising public awareness about oceanic issues, and mobilizing the maritime world towards decarbonization.
Dedicated programs to the links between Ocean and Climate
Welcome “Ocean & Climate” scientific experts to study the impact of climate change on the Ocean and the importance of marine biodiversity to combat it.
Raise awareness on the importance of the Ocean through the creation of educational content, events organization, and international interventions of the Race for Water’s teams.
Promote and apply “Zero Carbon Emission” technological solutions used on board to contribute to the decarbonization of the maritime world.
"The MODX and Race for Water projects fully embody the values that drive me: innovation, decarbonization, and respect for the marine environment. Taking part in this adventure means actively contributing to rethinking our relationship with the ocean and with energy."
– Raphaël Lambot, Captain of the MODX 70 catamaran.
THE OCEAN ON THE FRONTLINE FOR THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
The ocean has already absorbed more than 90% of excess heat linked to climate change, and 20 to 30% of human-generated CO2 emissions since the 1980s. (Source: IPCC 2019)
The CO2 released by human activities remains in our atmosphere for around two hundred years and causes a lasting effect on climate. we are not currently experiencing climate change, but rather a change in our entire world. It is therefore imperative to adapt and act.
IF THE SHIPING INDUSTRY WERE A COUNTRY, IT WOULD BE THE 6TH LARGEST CO2 EMITTER. LUCKILY, WE CAN USE THE WIND AND THE SUN TO BRING US TO THE FUTURE : DARE TO CHANGE, FOR THE OCEAN.
The ever-increasing volumes of merchandise transported across the globe have brought maritime transport CO2 emissions to the same level as aviation. It is still possible to reverse the trend and give navigation a footprint that is more in harmony with its marine environment. The Race for Water Foundation supports its partners in their work with stakeholders from the maritime sector to decarbonize navigation.
A STRATEGY BASED ON ECO-INNOVATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE
