The world's first hydrogen-powered commercial ferry began sailing the San Francisco Bay this summer, California officials announced earlier in July.
The MV Sea Change began carrying passengers across the bay on July 19 and can hold up to 75 people on board. Officials say it will run between the downtown San Francisco ferry terminal and Pier 41 during its six-month trial period and will also be free of charge during that time. The hope is that this new source of energy can cut down on the heat-trapping gases that come from the shipping industry.
The Sea Change can run for 16 hours and travel about 345 miles between refuelings, and it generates electricity by combining oxygen and hydrogen, so the only byproduct it creates is water. With shipping accounting for 3% of the world's carbon pollution, as noted by Interesting Engineering, this small step could have massive implications.
"The implications for this are huge because this isn't its last stop," Jim Wunderman, chair of the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority, said. "If we can operate this successfully, there are going to be more of these vessels in our fleet and in other folks' fleets in the United States and we think the world."
On top of ferries, proponents of the technology also believe it can power cargo vessels and other ships.
Hydrogen power has been a clean energy goal of the U.S. government for some time now. Per the Associated Press, the Biden administration has been offering $7 billion to the nation's engineers, corporations, and manufacturers to incentivize the creation of hydrogen-powered technology.
However, the technology isn't as cut-and-dry as it would seem at first glance.
Environmental activists note that most hydrogen is produced using natural gas at present, which increases carbon pollution. In addition, the transport and storage of hydrogen is expensive and requires a fair amount of technology. Hydrogen in its pure form is also somewhat unstable and could be risky as a fuel supply.
However, its proponents are optimistic that as time progresses, this source of energy could have a massive impact. In Europe, a company has already worked on a vessel that uses a hybrid electro-hydrogen propulsion energy system. Elsewhere in Europe, a retrofitted cargo ship is helping to pave the way for more hydrogen-powered boats.
"There's great potential here," Frank Wolak, president and CEO of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association, said. "This is how you start chipping away at the carbon intensity of your ports."
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