World’s First Entirely Hydrogen-Powered Ferry to Set Sail in San Francisco

The Sea Change in San Francisco near the Bay Bridge. (Courtesy of San Francisco Bay Ferry)

The world’s first hydrogen-powered ferry will set sail in the San Francisco Bay July 19, marking a major milestone for the development of zero-emission maritime technology, according to a press release from the San Francisco Bay Ferry transit service.

The vessel—named “Sea Change”—will operate for six months to demonstrate fuel cell technology, which uses chemical energy from hydrogen to create clean energy.

The hydrogen power system in the ferry only emits water vapor, according to the transit system’s statement. Some of that water will be “remineralized” for use in an onboard drinking fountain. Ferry officials said such makes Sea Change the only vessel in the world with “drinkable emissions.”

The technology could also potentially decrease the amount of global emissions in the maritime industry, which accounts for 3 percent of carbon emissions worldwide and is on track to represent as much as 10 percent by 2050, according to climate advocacy organization Transport & Environment.

The ferry will offer free transportation three days a week for 75 passengers between Pier 41 and the Downtown San Francisco Ferry Terminal.

According to the transit system’s statement, it is owned by Switch Maritime—a zero-carbon ferry manufacturer that builds and leases vessels—and was developed in part thanks to a grant from the California Air Resources Board.

It was built by All American Marine in Bellingham, Washington.

The ferry was sponsored by organizations like United Airlines, California Climate Investments—a state initiative that funds climate-related projects—and Chevron New Energies.

“The Sea Change is a real-world, practical example of how the government and private sector can work together to help demonstrate the commercial viability and increase consumer confidence in hydrogen,” said Austin Knight, the vice president of hydrogen for Chevron, in a statement.

After its six-month demonstration period in the San Franciso Bay, Switch Maritime will seek future deployments for the vessel, a spokesman for the San Francisco Bay Ferry told The Epoch Times July 16.

He also said the transit system is currently working to build its own zero-emission battery electric ferries.

“We remain engaged with industry stakeholders on additional zero-emission propulsion technology and expect to learn a lot from this six month Sea Change demonstration project about how hydrogen might fit into our long-term future,” he said.

Ferry officials also indicated that as they move to reduce emissions from their fleet, testing upcoming technology would become “vital” to moving the maritime industry and the San Francisco ferry service forward.