SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The world’s first commercial hydrogen-powered passenger ferry will begin operating on San Francisco Bay as part of plans to phase out diesel-powered ships and reduce planet-warming carbon emissions, officials said. California officials on Friday, demonstrating 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 operating as part of a pilot program.
“The implications for this are huge because this is not his last stop,” said Jim Wunderman, chairman of the San Francisco Bay Area Emergency Water Transportation Authority, which operates commuter ferries across the bay. “If we can operate this successfully, there will be more of these ships in our fleet and in the fleets of other people in the United States and we think in 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 releases water as a byproduct.
The technology could help clean up the shipping industry, which produces nearly 3% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, officials said. That’s less than from cars, trucks, railroads or aviation, but still a lot — and growing.
Frank Wolak, president and CEO of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association, said the ferry makes sense 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 is great potential here. This is how you can start to reduce the carbon intensity of your ports.”
Supporters also hope that hydrogen fuel cells could power container ships.
The International Maritime Organization, which regulates commercial shipping, wants to halve greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century.
As fossil fuel emissions continue to warm the Earth’s atmosphere, the Biden administration is addressing it hydrogen as an energy source for vehicles, manufacturing and power 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.
Right now, the hydrogen produced globally each year, mainly for refineries and fertilizer production, is produced using natural gas. This process warms the planet instead of saving it. Indeed, a new study by researchers from Cornell and Stanford universities found that most hydrogen production emits carbon dioxide, meaning that hydrogen-fueled transportation cannot yet 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 predict an increased use of electricity from wind and solar power, which can split hydrogen and oxygen in water. As these renewable forms of energy gain wider use, hydrogen production must become a cleaner and less expensive process.
The Sea Change project was funded 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 reporter Jennifer McDermott contributed to this report from Providence, Rhode Island.