We obviously love solar here at Solar Schools but we also love seeing new clean, green energy projects and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has piqued our interest. CARB recently announced a $3 million grant to help build the world’s first commercial hydrogen fuel cell ferry. Named ‘Water-Go-Round’ the proposed vessel is going to be 22 meters long and carry up to 84 passengers at a time.

Watercraft aren’t known for huge emissions and because of this, the marine industry has been slow to develop greener technology. More recently the global shipping industry has made a concerted effort to clean up older, dirty fuel-burning ships in the US and Europe. Ferries, in particular, can pose health risks as they navigate densely populated waterways in metropolitan environments but are also ideal for testing new technology. As of April 2018, the International Maritime Organization adopted a massive new policy that will require increased uptake of zero-emissions vessels and passenger ships are perfect for testing this technology. Staying closer to shore between stops, this allows better access to batteries, charging points and maintenance teams.

Let’s hope everything goes as planned, the Water-Go-Round is scheduled for launch in 2019. You can read more at Grist.