The world’s first hydrogen fuelling of a commercial marine vessel took place at the All American Marine shipyard, and the vessel is presently undergoing final sea trials before delivery.
The event marks a watershed moment in the global maritime industry’s decarbonization and exemplifies the US’s energy shift away from fossil fuels.
The Sea Change, a new 75-passenger ferry, got hydrogen into its upper deck’s 242 kg tanks. It utilizes hydrogen to power electric motors for distances up to 300 nautical miles and speeds up to 20 knots, similar to diesel-powered vessels, but with the added benefits of zero exhaust smoke or other pollution, as well as very little vibration and noise.
Green hydrogen, created in California by an electrolyzer fueled by sustainable solar electricity, is poured into the vessel’s tanks, resulting in zero carbon emissions throughout the fuel’s creation.
“While it’s taken us years to get here, the timing couldn’t be better,” says SWITCH Maritime CEO Pace Ralli. “Right now, our country is more dedicated than ever to transitioning to a carbon-free economy.” Hydrogen will play a significant part in that future, and the marine industry’s leading players are preparing to decarbonize. We are grateful to all of our collaborators and delighted to have played a little part in hastening the deployment of hydrogen power on a large scale. Hopefully, this is only the start of a chain reaction.”
The fuelling comes after the United States Coast Guard (USCG) approved the Sea Change’s hydrogen powertrain and storage systems in October, marking the end of years of collaboration with the USCG aimed at securely integrating hydrogen power and storage systems on passenger ships. The completion of this critical milestone opens the door to a wide range of potential hydrogen power system installations on all sorts of vessels, including ocean-going containerships.
The first-of-its-kind maritime hydrogen and fuel cell system, as well as the vessel’s unique fueling system that allows it to be fueled directly from a hydrogen truck, were designed and developed by Zero Emission Industries (ZEI), formerly Golden Gate Zero Emission Marine, which was also responsible for the successful regulatory approvals of all hydrogen-related aspects onboard. ZEI is a leading hydrogen technology firm that designs and distributes turnkey hydrogen power systems, sophisticated fuel cell balance of plant subsystems, fuelling systems, and unique safety systems for a variety of applications.
“We’re really happy to see the Sea Change begin sea trials, and it was a proud moment for me to witness our fuelling and hydrogen systems operating in the real world for the first time,” said Danny Terlip, ZEI’s Lead Engineer. “At ZEI, our entire objective is to develop innovative technology that makes hydrogen accessible and simple to utilize, and this event exemplifies how far we’ve gone.”
