On a perfect San Francisco morning on July 12, history was made. The world’s first hydrogen-powered passenger ferry, the Sea Change, made its inaugural sail from the San Francisco Ferry Building to Pier 41 near Fisherman’s Wharf. The vessel will ferry people the 1.2 nautical miles three times a week for free: a short trip, but one that has significant impacts for the future of zero-emission ocean vessels.

About 150 attendees — including representatives from the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the San Francisco Bay Ferry Board, Reps. Kevin Mullin (CA-15) and Jared Huffman (CA-2), and San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu and Supervisor Matt Dorsey — celebrated the launch at Gate F of the Ferry Building.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said, “California is a global leader in the fight against the climate crisis, pioneering new technologies to ramp up clean energy and cut pollution — that’s why the zero-emission Sea Change is so exciting. I’m proud of our state’s role in advancing these innovations, and of our state’s public and private sector partners for bringing them to market and demonstrating their viability.”

Sea Change is a 70-foot catamaran ferry developed and owned by the startup Switch Maritime and featuring an integrated hydrogen power system from Zero Emission Industries (ZEI) with a capacity of 75 passengers. The project began development in 2018 when ZEI won a grant from CARB to create the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell commercial ferry.

This is a huge step forward for port communities, as harbor crafts are one of the top three cancer-causing emissions at the ports in California.

After some opening remarks from speakers, attendees boarded Sea Change for its inaugural trip. One unique feature of the hydrogen-fueled vessel is that its only emission is clean, drinkable water. During the tour, amused passengers filled their reusable bottles from a water fountain fed by water collected from the water vapor emissions produced by the hydrogen cells powering the ferry.

Speaking to local television affiliate ABC News 7, Joe Pratt, CEO of Zero Emission Industries said, “The only exhaust is pure water. It’s so pure that you can drink it and there’s a drinking fountain on board. So I invite everybody to do that as well.” 

Other cities running ferry services like New York and Seattle have expressed interest in the technology and are said to be looking for opportunities to deliver more hydrogen-fueled passenger ferries to their cities soon. Switch Maritime CEO Pace Ralli told Canary Media in an interview last fall: “The technology exists; now it’s just about learning how to adopt these new decarbonized technologies and getting them to scale.” California is requiring all short-distance ferries to be emissions-free by the end of 2025, according to CARB.

“This technology is a game changer for the maritime industry,” said Erika Thi Patterson, Senior Director of Pacific Environment’s Climate Campaign. “The Bay Area has always presented itself as innovators in technology, and the Sea Change is a great example of that. We look forward to working with the state and with other leaders across the country to accelerate the transition to clean ports and zero-emission shipping technologies.”