The first hydrogen ferry in New York City gets a state grant
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the state agency that funds clean energy projects, awarded SWITCH Maritime 2,000,000 dollars on August 21, 2025, to build the first hydrogen ferry in New York City. The vessel runs on a hydrogen fuel cell, a device that turns hydrogen gas into electricity without burning it, so the exhaust is water vapor rather than diesel exhaust. Called the ZEF 150, it is planned to carry 150 passengers and 6 crew from a base at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and it is still in design and naval architecture, the stage before a shipyard starts building metal.
SWITCH aims to provide municipal ferry operators with viable zero emission options to replace their aging, diesel powered vessels.
Pace Ralli, SWITCH Maritime co founder and chief executive officer. Source 1.
Why a fuel cell ferry needs no new shoreside charging
SWITCH Maritime and Incat Crowther, the naval architecture firm designing the vessel, say a hydrogen fuel cell ferry can match a diesel ferry schedule without the shoreside upgrades a battery electric ferry needs. A battery electric ferry has to plug into shore power to recharge, which can require new charging equipment and more electricity pulled from the local grid. The ZEF 150 instead refuels with hydrogen once a day, the companies say, keeping the same speeds and the same dock times a diesel ferry runs today, with no shoreside charging infrastructure and no power grid upgrade required.
The engineering behind the ZEF 150, from the designer own specification
Incat Crowther own design specification for the vessel, filed under design number IC24179, lists 4 electric motors rated at 588 kilowatts each, driven by 6 hydrogen fuel cells rated at 225 kilowatts each. The ship stores 720 kilograms of compressed hydrogen across 4 tanks and carries 1,576 kilowatt hours of battery storage split into 16 strings, backup power that smooths out the fuel cells output. The 6 fuel cells combined can only supply 1,350 kilowatts, MAOWCE arithmetic on the 225 kilowatt rating for each one, while the 4 motors can draw up to 2,352 kilowatts combined, which is why the ship also carries the battery, to cover the gap between what the fuel cells can supply and what the motors can draw. The same specification lists a service speed of 25 knots against a maximum of 27.5 knots, and puts the vessel at 28.5 meters long and 9 meters wide.
All 3 counts come from Incat Crowther own published design specification for design IC24179, the exact vessel funded by this grant.
Show the numbers
| Hydrogen tanks | 4 |
| Electric motors | 4 |
| Battery strings | 16 |
The 2 total figures, 2,352 and 1,350, are MAOWCE arithmetic, 4 times 588 and 6 times 225, run on the 2 per unit figures WorkBoat states, not totals the source itself states as single numbers.
Show the numbers
| Each electric motor | 588 |
| Each hydrogen fuel cell | 225 |
| Total from 4 motors | 2352 |
| Total from 6 fuel cells | 1350 |
The design of this vessel showcases a feasible solution for mass transit operators looking to begin the fleet decarbonisation process.
Dan Mace, Incat Crowther technical manager. Source 2.
What the funding does not yet answer
No shipbuilder has been chosen yet, and none of the 5 sources for this article name one. Incat Crowther own press release, the newer of the 2 company statements checked for this article, describes the project as still in detailed design and naval architecture, not under construction. The funding runs through the Advanced Fuels and Thermal Energy Research Program, the program the state agency names in its own announcement.