With the nearly 1,000 vessels in the US fleet moving a total of 100+ million passengers and 25+ million vehicles annually, ferries serve as a vital means of transportation for urban and rural communities alike across the country. While an important mode of transit, ferries also represent a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions and particulate matter. The aging ferry fleets in the US burn tens of millions of gallons of diesel each year, and each diesel-burning ferry is a candidate for being converted or displaced with a low- or zero-emissions vessel.
SWITCH’s recent fundraise comes on the back of the completion of its flagship zero-emission vessel, Sea Change, which will operate as part of the public Water Emergency Transportation Authority’s (WETA) SF Bay Ferry fleet.
The new 75-passenger ferry uses hydrogen fuel cells to produce electricity to power electric motors for distances up to 300 nautical miles, and speeds up to 15 knots, with the added benefits of no exhaust smoke and very little vibration and noise. While the only emission is pure water vapor, this technology allows for new ferries to have the same performance capabilities as diesel-powered vessels, and without the need for installing large-scale battery charging infrastructure on the shore.
As states such as California begin to implement stringent emissions regulations and reporting requirements for commercial harbor craft (including ferries), vessel operators are becoming faced with the reality that they need to modernize and decarbonize their aging fleets, often without the resources to successfully make the transition. SWITCH’s model addresses the complex, resource-intensive process of technology integration, vessel construction and regulatory approvals for zero-emission vessels and offers them a painless path to a carbon-neutral, compliant fleet.
Specifically, SWITCH provides operators with three key avenues of support:
vessel design, financing, and construction;
short- and long-term vessel lease options, alleviating large upfront capital expenditures; and
pre-packaged carbon-neutral fueling or charging infrastructure solutions.
These baseline services can be complemented by grant application writing and tax incentive administration, preventative & unplanned maintenance of new power systems onboard, management of all necessary permitting and crew training as well as next-generation carbon management and reporting.
Having received regulatory approval in 2022 from the United States Coast Guard (USCG) for hydrogen powertrain and storage systems, Sea Change represents the culmination of years of cooperation with the USCG focused on safely integrating hydrogen and electric powertrain systems on passenger vessels and paves the path for SWITCH’s fleet expansion plans. Establishing a regulatory framework for this technology unlocks the possibility of progressing to larger ferry designs capable of operating at higher speeds on longer routes.
SWITCH is actively working on additional expansion designs for 150-, 300- and 450-passenger zero-emission ferries, leveraging the lessons learned from its flagship vessel and is ready to grow its fleet in key ferry markets across the US.
The Sea Change ferry. Launched in August at All American Marine shipyard in Bellingham, Washington, the Sea Change is a 70-foot catamaran ferry designed by Incat Crowther, equipped with a hydrogen fuel cell system from Zero Emissions Industries (ZEI), which includes 360kW of fuel cells from Cummins and 242kg of hydrogen storage tanks from Hexagon Purus, and a 600kW electric propulsion system from BAE Systems which includes 100kWh of lithium-ion battery storage from XALT. The construction management was led by the Hornblower Group.
The project is also 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.
Additionally, the project received the first loan guarantee under BAAQMD’s Climate Tech Finance program, which seeks to reduce greenhouse gases by accelerating emerging climate technologies. In partnership with the California Infrastructure Economic Development Bank and the Northern California Financial Development Corporation (NorCal FDC), the Climate Tech Finance team led a technology qualification and greenhouse gas analysis that deemed SWITCH eligible for a loan guarantee. This loan guarantee supported SWITCH in securing a $5-million construction and term loan with KeyBank, which enables SWITCH to bring this project to completion.
