Switch Maritime, a San Francisco, CA-based company developing hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric zero-carbon ferries, raised $10M in Series A funding.
The round was led by Nexus Development Capital.
The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its business reach.
Led by Pace Ralli, CEO, Switch Maritime is focused on enabling private and public municipal ferry operators to transition away from their carbon-intensive diesel-powered fleets, while reducing operating and fueling costs over the lifetime of their vessels. By offering operators capital-efficient access to fuel cell and battery electric zero-emissions vessels along with packaged fueling/charging solutions, it helps operators overcome the complexity of the rapidly evolving technology and regulatory landscape. The company has developed and operationalized Sea Change, a commercial hydrogen fuel cell empowered ferry in the U.S., and plans to grow its fleet of zero-carbon vessels in key ferry markets.
Sea Change will operate as part of the Water Emergency Transportation Authority’s (WETA) San Francisco Bay Ferry fleet. The new 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 – similar capabilities as diesel-powered vessels – with the added benefits of no exhaust smoke and very little vibration and noise. The only emission is pure water vapor.
Specifically, the company provides operators with three key avenues of support:
(1) vessel design, financing, and construction,
(2) short- and long-term vessel lease options, alleviating large upfront capital expenditures, and
(3) pre-packaged carbon-neutral fueling or charging infrastructure solutions.
These baseline services can be complemented by grant application writing and tax incentive administration, preventative & unplanned maintenance of new power systems onboard, management of all necessary permitting and crew training as well as next-generation carbon management and reporting.
FinSMEs
16/11/2023