SWITCH Maritime, a US-based company developing zero-emission hydrogen and battery-powered ferries, has raised $10 million in a Series A round led by low-carbon investor Nexus Development Capital to expand its fleet.
SWITCH Maritime was founded in 2018 with an aim to enable private and public municipal ferry operators to more easily replace their carbon-intensive, diesel-powered fleets while reducing operating and fueling costs over the lifetime of their vessels.
The company noted that the recent fundraising follows the completion of its flagship ferry named Sea Change, also known as the world’s first commercial hydrogen fuel cell vessel, which was launched in San Francisco Bay in 2021.
The ferry will operate as part of the public Water Emergency Transportation Authority’s (WETA) SF Bay Ferry fleet. The 75-passenger ferry uses hydrogen fuel cells to produce electricity to power electric motors for distances up to 300 nautical miles, and speeds up to 15 knots.
Sea Change received regulatory approval in 2022 from the United States Coast Guard (USCG) for hydrogen powertrain and storage systems.
Pace Ralli, CEO of SWITCH Maritime, said: “The maritime industry is one of the hardest to decarbonize sectors, but there are viable technologies and business models that can be deployed today to start transitioning fleets.
As states like California begin to implement stringent emissions regulations and reporting requirements for commercial harbor craft, including ferries), the company offers operators three key avenues of support:
- vessel design, financing, and construction,
- short- and long-term vessel lease options, alleviating large upfront capital expenditures, and
- pre-packaged carbon-neutral fueling or charging infrastructure solutions.
Funding SWITCH Maritime is the sixth investment for Nexus Development Capital which is on a mission to use the growth infusion to continue providing small-check investments to sustainable infrastructure solutions, helping to bridge the gap between project concept and implementation.