दुनिया की पहली हाइड्रोजन-संचालित वाणिज्यिक नौका सैन फ्रांसिस्को में लॉन्च की गई।

World’s first hydrogen-powered commercial ferry launches in San Francisco.

On Friday, the MV Sea Change, the world's first commercial passenger ferry powered entirely by hydrogen fuel, was launched at the San Francisco Ferry Building. This 70-foot catamaran, capable of carrying up to 75 passengers, will start operating on July 19, transporting people along the waterfront between Pier 41 and the downtown San Francisco ferry terminal.

Unlike diesel-powered ferries that emit pollutants, the hydrogen-powered Sea Change only produces heat and water vapor as byproducts. Passengers can even drink the emissions from an onboard water fountain. The service will be free for six months as part of a pilot program.

“The implications for this are huge because this isn’t its last stop,” said Jim Wunderman, chair of the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority. “If we can operate this successfully, there are going to be more of these vessels in our fleet and in other folks’ fleets in the United States and we think in the world.” The Sea Change can travel about 300 nautical miles and operate for 16 hours before needing to refuel. The hydrogen fuel cells generate electricity by combining oxygen and hydrogen in an electrochemical reaction.

The project, financed and managed by SWITCH Maritime, involved the construction of the vessel at Bay Ship and Yacht in Alameda, California, and All-American Marine in Bellingham, Washington. Officials are hopeful that this technology can help reduce the shipping industry's environmental impact, which accounts for nearly 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. “The real value of this is when you multiply out by the number of ferries operating around the world,” said Frank Wolak, president and CEO of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association. “There’s great potential here. This is how you can start chipping away at the carbon intensity of your ports.”

News Reference