Ship building company SWITCH Maritime has secured $2 million in funding to develop and demonstrate New York‘s first hydrogen fuel cell-electric ferry. It is one of five companies awarded the funding for clean hydrogen research and development projects through the Advanced Fuels and Thermal Energy Research Program of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
The company, founded in 2018, builds and leases zero-emission vessels to maritime operators looking to adopt battery and hydrogen fuel cell technology.
“SWITCH aims to provide municipal ferry operators with viable zero-emission options to replace their aging, diesel-powered vessels,” said SWITCH Maritime Co-founder and CEO Pace Ralli. “Funding from NYSERDA’s Clean Hydrogen Innovation Program accelerates SWITCH’s ability to demonstrate a hydrogen-powered 150-passenger ferry for NYC waterways, without sacrificing operational performance.”
More than $11 million had been awarded from NYSERDA to five projects that will demonstrate new technology designs, cost reductions associated with clean hydrogen storage and distribution, evaluate large-scale clean hydrogen storage opportunities, and deploy zero-emission hydrogen-powered transportation.
“New York’s investments in clean hydrogen are helping to unlock this emerging resource as a potential contributor to the state’s affordable, abundant, and reliable energy system,” Governor Kathy Hochul stated. “Advancing alternative fuels like clean hydrogen will grow our clean energy economy while reducing emissions statewide.”
SWITCH Maritime, in collaboration with LH2 Shipping and LMG Marin, is also working on the construction of the first liquid hydrogen-fueled RoPax vehicle ferry in the U.S. The project entails the U.S. construction of the existing DNVGL-classed 80-car, 300-passenger RoPax vehicle ferry design operating on liquid hydrogen fuel in Norway, MF Hydra.
