The world’s first hydrogen-powered commercial ferry will operate in San Francisco Bay, and it’s free
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The world’s first hydrogen-powered commercial passenger ferry will begin operating in San Francisco Bay as part of plans to phase out diesel-powered vessels and reduce carbon emissions that cause global warming, California officials said Friday as they demonstrated the vessel.
The 70-foot (21-meter) catamaran called MV Sea Change will carry up to 75 passengers along the waterfront between Pier 41 and the downtown San Francisco ferry terminal starting July 19, officials said. The service will be free for six months while it is running as part of a pilot program.
“The implications for this are huge because this is not their last stop,” said Jim Wunderman, chairman of the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority, which operates passenger ferries across the bay. “If we can operate this successfully, there will be more of these vessels in our fleet and in the fleets of others in the United States and, we believe, the world.”
Sea Change can travel about 300 nautical miles and operate for 16 hours before needing to refuel. Fuel cells produce electricity by combining oxygen and hydrogen in an electrochemical reaction that emits water as a byproduct.
The technology could help clean up the transportation industry, which produces nearly 3% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, officials said. That’s less than cars, trucks, railroads or aviation, but still a lot — and it’s growing.
Frank Wolak, president and CEO of the Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association, said the ferry is significant because it is difficult to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships.
“The real value of this is when you multiply it by the number of ferries operating around the world,” he said. “There’s huge potential here. This is how you can start to reduce the carbon intensity of your ports.”
Supporters also hope that hydrogen fuel cells could eventually power container ships.
The International Maritime Organization, which regulates commercial shipping, wants to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century.
As fossil fuel emissions continue to warm the Earth’s atmosphere, the Biden administration is turning to hydrogen as an energy source for vehicles, manufacturing and electricity generation. It has offered $8 billion to entice the country’s industries, engineers and planners to figure out how to produce and deliver clean hydrogen.
Environmental groups say hydrogen poses its own pollution and climate risks.
For now, the hydrogen produced globally each year, mostly for refineries and fertilizer manufacturing, is made using natural gas. This process heats the planet rather than saving it. In fact, a new study by researchers at Cornell and Stanford universities found that most hydrogen production emits carbon dioxide, meaning hydrogen-powered transportation still cannot be considered clean energy.
However, proponents of hydrogen-powered transportation say that in the long run, hydrogen production is destined to become safer for the environment. They foresee increasing use of electricity from wind and solar power, which can separate hydrogen and oxygen in water. As these renewable forms of energy gain wider use, hydrogen production should become a cleaner and less expensive process.
The Sea Change project was financed and managed by investment firm SWITCH Maritime. The vessel was built at Bay Ship and Yacht in Alameda, California, and All-American Marine in Bellingham, Washington.
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Associated Press journalist Jennifer McDermott contributed to this report from Providence, Rhode Island.
