GHG Emissions, Commercial, Sourcing Renewables  -  May 24, 2024

SF Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Adds Hydrogen Ferry

The San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) will conduct a six-month pilot service of the Sea Change, a hydrogen-powered ferry, starting in June.

The WETA will launch the service due to a public-private sponsorship that includes United; the Golden State Warriors; California Air Resources Board; Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, and Transportation District; and Blue & Gold Fleet. 

The ferry was manufactured by SWITCH Maritime, a developer of zero-emission maritime vessels. The company was presented with a signed Certificate of Inspection (COI) by the U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Francisco commander and Captain of the Port for the flagship hydrogen ferry. 

After the initial demonstration period, SWITCH will put the vessel into a more permanent ferry route. 

The Sea Change uses hydrogen fuel cells to power all-electric motors for transit distances up to 300 nautical miles and speeds up to 15 knots. The technology provides similar operational capabilities and ranges to diesel-powered vessels and eliminates the need for shoreside charging infrastructure required by battery-only vessels.

The Sea Change is a 75-passenger catamaran ferry featuring an integrated hydrogen power system from Zero Emission Industries, with 360kW of fuel cells from Cummins and 600kW of electric motor propulsion from BAE Systems.

The project is partially funded by a $3 million grant from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) — administered by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) — that comes from the California Climate Investments initiative, a California statewide program that puts cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing GHG emissions.

In addition, the project received the first-ever loan guarantee under BAAQMD’s Climate Tech Finance program, which seeks to lower GHG by accelerating emerging climate technologies in partnership with the California Infrastructure Economic Development Bank and the Northern California Financial Development Corporation (NorCal FDC). With this loan guarantee, SWITCH secured a $5 million commercial financing from KeyBank and later raised equity funds from Nexus Development Capital for the project. 

SWITCH seeks to accelerate the adoption of net-zero vessels by bearing the regulatory and construction risks for the operators and offering existing operators the ability to lease the new vessels after completion — a form of the "hardware-as-a-service" model increasingly being utilized to accelerate the energy transition of hard-to-abate industrial sectors.

“This COI represents the culmination of years of close collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard and a significant milestone for the maritime industry, demonstrating the viability of carbon-neutral vessels. We are immensely grateful for the support from the US Coast Guard and all our partners along the path to completion,” said Pace Ralli, CEO of SWITCH, in a statement. “This is not the finish line, but just a starting point from which to build many more.”