World's First Commercial Hydrogen-Powered Ferry Is Sailing San Francisco Bay, and Rides Are Free

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The world's first commercial hydrogen-powered ferry will begin operating in San Francisco Bay as part of plans to phase out diesel-powered ships and reduce climate-warming carbon emissions, California officials said Friday.

The 70-foot (21-meter) boat, called the MV Sea Change, will ferry up to 75 passengers along the waterfront between Pier 41 and the ferry terminal in downtown San Francisco starting July 19, officials said. The service will be free for six months while it operates as part of a pilot program.

“The implications of this are enormous 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 get this going successfully, there will be more of these ships in our fleet and in other fleets in the United States and we believe in the world.”

The Sea Change can travel 300 nautical miles and operate for 16 hours before needing to be refueled. Fuel cells produce electricity by combining oxygen and hydrogen in an electrochemical reaction that produces water as a byproduct.

Officials say the technology could help clean up the shipping industry, which produces about 3 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. That’s less than the emissions produced by cars, trucks, rail and aviation, but it’s still a lot — and it’s rising.

The phrase is important because it is difficult to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships, said Frank Wolak, chairman and CEO of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association.

“The real value of this is multiplying it by the number of ferries operating around the world,” he said. “There is huge potential here. That way you can start to reduce the carbon intensity of your ports.”

Proponents also hope that hydrogen fuel cells could eventually 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 moving to Hydrogen as an energy source For vehicles, manufacturing and power generation. It has offered $8 billion to encourage 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, primarily for oil refineries and fertilizer manufacturing, is produced using natural gas. That process is warming the planet rather than saving it. In fact, a new study by researchers at Cornell and Stanford universities finds that most hydrogen production emits carbon dioxide, meaning that hydrogen-powered transportation can’t be considered clean energy just yet.

But hydrogen transport advocates say that in the long run, hydrogen production is set to become more environmentally friendly. They envision increased use of electricity from wind and solar power, which can separate hydrogen from oxygen in water. As these renewable energy sources become more widely used, hydrogen production should become cleaner and cheaper.

The Sea Change project was financed and managed by investment firm SWITCH Maritime. The ship was built by 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.