What is SWITCH Maritime?

              SWITCH Maritime builds and leases zero-emission maritime vessels powered by hydrogen fuel cells and batteries.

What is the business model?

              At our core, SWITCH Maritime seeks to provide a comprehensive “zero-emissions as a service” model. For most all vessel operators, fleet decarbonization is a daunting task. SWITCH simplifies the process and reduces risk to the operator by offering turn-key solutions in a capital-efficient manner. By shouldering the risk associated with adopting, developing, and understanding zero-emissions vessel technologies, SWITCH ensures that operators can focus on their core business.

What is the approach to technology?

              SWITCH maintains a technology agnostic stance, which has multiple benefits. First, different use cases require different decarbonization solutions. Second, the technological landscape is constantly evolving and advancing. This means that we can develop zero-emissions vessel solutions that best fit a customer’s route profile and operational requirements.

What is the Sea Change?

              The Sea Change is the world’s first commercial zero-emissions ferry powered 100% by hydrogen fuel cells. The Sea Change is developed and owned by SWITCH Maritime and is currently operating in the San Francisco Bay Ferry fleet. The Sea Change is a 70-foot, 75-passenger vessel that is powered by 360 kW of hydrogen fuel cells, alongside a 100kWh lithium-ion battery.

How do I ride the Sea Change?

              The Sea Change is running service in San Francisco between Pier 41 at Fisherman’s Wharf and the Ferry Building. The Sea Change is free to ride and currently operating every Friday through Sunday between 9:20am and 4:00pm. For more information, check out the SF Bay Ferry website, which can be accessed here.

How is the Sea Change powered?

              The Sea Change is powered by a 360 kW hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system that is complimented by 100 kWh of lithium-ion batteries. At low speeds, baseload power is provide by the hydrogen fuel cells, while at higher speeds, batteries can provide an added boost.

How do you source your hydrogen?

              Given the nascency of the global clean hydrogen industry, SWITCH sources the same hydrogen that is distributed to car fueling stations in the Bay Area, which are currently provided through existing bulk H2 providers. These providers derive H2 from natural gas, and increasingly renewable natural gas. The renewable content of the H2 that powers the Sea Change hovers between 60-85%.

              It remains our goal to provide entirely zero-emission vessels as soon as possible. The Sea Change will be powered by green hydrogen, as soon as we can source it from the multitude of green hydrogen development projects that will come online in the coming years in the surrounding region.

What is next for SWITCH?

                  Bringing the Sea Change into service was a monumental first step for SWITCH and the maritime industry as a whole, but we are just getting started. SWITCH aims to grow – quickly – by actively advancing the development of larger zero-emissions commercial harbor craft for use not only in San Francisco Bay, but also in waterways across the United States and around the globe. We are currently designing two new hydrogen-powered vessels: a 150-passenger and 300-passenger ferry for construction in 2025.