Hydrogen ferry on SF Bay causes uproar with drinkable exhaust

Cookie Huss and Ed Simon boarded the ferry at Fisherman’s Wharf at 10:30 on Sunday morning and headed straight for the back of the cabin, closest to the water fountain. They wanted to drink the cool, pure exhaust fumes of the world’s first commercial passenger ferry powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

“It tastes really good,” said Huss, who had to drink quickly because it was only a 15-minute drive to the San Francisco ferry terminal, via an existing route called 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 it a round trip, drinking for free both ways from the water treated as tailpipe after the fuel cell that powers Sea Change at up to 10 knots.

“If I get a third eye,” she said after taking a sip from her plastic cup, “I’ll know why.”

Sea Change is a 70-foot catamaran that holds 75 passengers, though it averaged about half that many on each of the four roundtrips it made between the Ferry Building and Pier 41 during opening weekend. The boat, which began free test runs on Friday, is at the forefront of a ferry fleet that is required to operate all routes shorter than three miles (4.8 km) emissions-free by 2026.

Battery electric is the main option, but it doesn’t have the capacity for longer routes like the 25-mile San Francisco-to-Vallejo route because of the weight of the batteries. Hydrogen is an option because the fuel system is lighter. Although hydrogen-powered ferries operate in Europe, they require diesel to operate, said James Romero, chief engineer at Switch Maritime, which built and owns Sea Change with support from a grant from the California Water Resources Board.

“This is purely conceptual, to see how it works,” Romero said, noting that there is no diesel or other fossil fuel on board.

The fuel cells are located in black tanks at the front of the boat, out of sight of passengers. The only emission is water vapour, which condenses back into water. It is then put through a remineralisation process, making the water taste fresh from the tap.

“It solves two problems at once,” said passenger Ed Simon. “Fuel and water.”

It took a while for the concept to get here. The boat started out as Water-Go-Round, with a keel-laying ceremony on Alameda in 2018. COVID-19 slowed shipbuilding, and Water-Go-Round changed hands and was towed to Bellingham, Washington, where it was built by All American Maritime. It was renamed Sea Change and towed back to the bay in 2023. On July 12, it was christened by San Francisco Bay Ferry, which provides East Bay commuter routes and tests new technologies with the goal of decarbonizing two-thirds of San Francisco Bay Ferry’s 17-ship fleet by 2035.

Sea Change is being trialled for free for six months by pilots of the Blue & Gold Fleet.

“We’re showing the future,” said Capt. Tom Harlan. “You could build a container ship with this technology.”

The first run on Sunday was light, with five passengers on board. But 16 others were waiting on the slipway for the return trip. As Sea Change pulled into the dock, Harlan went on the intercom to tell his story.

“We’re rapidly approaching our destination at the Ferry Building,” he said. “Have a fantastic hydrogen-powered rest of your day.”

Among those waiting were Daphna Zipkin of Millbrae and her granddaughter Talia Zipkin, 17, who was visiting from Los Angeles.

“We’re riding on history,” Daphna said as they boarded for the short ride. Sea Change didn’t 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 great,” she said. “If it saves the world and the environment, it’s the way to go.”

Contact Sam Whiting: [email protected]