Hydrogen-powered ferry offers drinkable exhaust
Cookie Huss and Ed Simon boarded the 10:30 Sunday morning ferry at Fisherman’s Wharf and went straight to the back of the cabin, nearest the water fountain. They wanted to drink the cool, pure exhaust from the world’s first hydrogen cell commercial passenger ferry.
“It tastes very good,” said Huss, who had to drink fast because it was only a 15-minute ride to San Francisco’s ferry terminal, on an existing route called the Pier 41 Short Hop. Huss and Simon had come all the way from Roseville, east of Sacramento, for the novelty.
“They said it was free, and I thought, ‘That’s a good reason to get out of the heat,’ ” said Huss, who planned to make a round trip of it and drink freely in both directions of the water that is treated after its emission as exhaust from the fuel cell that powers Sea Change to 10 knots.
“If I grow a third eye,’’ she said after sipping from her plastic cup, “I’ll know the reason why.’’
Sea Change is a 70-foot catamaran that can hold 75 passengers, though it was averaging about half that on each of four round trips it made between the Ferry Building and Pier 41 on its opening weekend. The boat, which began free test runs Friday, is at the vanguard of a ferry fleet that is required to go emission free for any route less than 3 miles by 2026.
Battery electric technology offers hope, but lacks capacity for longer routes such as the 25 miles from San Francisco to Vallejo due to the weight of the batteries. Hydrogen is an option because the fuel system is lighter. Though hydrogen cell-powered ferries are operating in Europe, they require diesel to operate, according to James Romero, chief engineer of Switch Maritime, which built Sea Change with support from a grant from the California Water Resources Board.
“This is purely conceptual, to see how it works,” said Romero, noting that there is neither diesel nor any other fossil fuel on board.
The fuel cells are in black tanks at the front of the boat, out of view of passengers. The only emission is water vapor, which condenses back to liquid water. It is then fed through a re-mineralization process that makes the water taste normal straight from the tap.
“It solves two problems at once,” said passenger Ed Simon. “Fuel and water.”
The concept took a while to get here. The boat started as the Water-GoRound, with a keel laying ceremony Alameda in 2018. COVID-19 slowed shipbuilding, then WaterGo-Round switched ownership and was towed to Bellingham, Wash., where it was built by All American Marine. Renamed Sea Change, it was towed back to the bay in 2023 and christened on July 12 by San Francisco Bay Ferry, which runs East Bay commute routes and tests new technologies, with the goal of decarbonizing twothirds of the San Francisco Bay Ferry fleet of 17 vessels by 2035.
Sea Change is being operated on a six-month free trial by pilots of the Blue & Gold Fleet.
“We’re showcasing the future,” Capt. Tom Harlan said. “You could build a container ship with this technology.”
The first run Sunday was light, five passengers on board. But 16 others were waiting on the ramp for the return run. As Sea Change pulled into the dock, Harlan got on the intercom to make his spiel.
“We are fast approaching our destination at the Ferry Building,” he said. “Have a fabulous hydrogen-powered rest of your day.”
Among those waiting to do so were Daphna Zipkin of Millbrae and her granddaughter Talia Zipkin, 17, visiting from Los Angeles.
“We’re riding on history,” Daphna said as they boarded for the short ride. Sea Change did not disappoint, as they disembarked 15 minutes later.
“The ride was smooth and fantastic, and the fact that you can drink the waste from the boat is amazing,” she said. “If it saves the world and the environment, it’s the way to go.”