Hydrogen-powered passenger boat takes to Bristol's waters

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

The vessel, which cost ^225,000, produces no emissions

A hydrogen-powered passenger boat has begun operating in Bristol's harbour.

Commissioned for the city council's Green Capital initiative, Hydrogenesis operates 45-minute trips between the Arnolfini and the ss Great Britain.

Keith Dunstan, director of Bristol Hydrogen Boats, says the vessel is the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)'s first hydrogen fuel-celled boat.

The 11m (36ft) 12-seat vessel had been due on the water last weekend but a technical fault caused a delay.

The vessel, which cost ^225,000 and produces no emissions, is starting a six-month trial in the city docks. It was designed and built by Bristol Hydrogen Boats, a consortium of local ferry operators and Auriga Energy Ltd.

"This has never been done before. This is the UK's first hydrogen fuel-celled boat," said Mr Dunstan. "We've had quite a few technical problems along the way but we've overcome them all and we're ready to go right now. We've been looking forward to this moment when we can actually say it's running and carry passengers.

"We've been running for a while, trialling it and making sure things are running properly. But I think it's finally ready to go, so we're going to keep our fingers crossed."

Mr Dunstan said a specially commissioned fuel station had been built to create hydrogen to power the ferry.

If the scheme is financially viable, Mr Dunstan hopes it can be extended with the long-term aim to produce its own hydrogen.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Bristol hydrogen-powered ferry a 'vanity project'


The 12-seater prototype ferry operated for just six months in Bristol Harbour

A hydrogen-powered ferry in Bristol has been criticised as a 'wasteful vanity project' by Conservative councillors.

'Hydrogenesis', believed to be the first commercial fuel cell boat in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom), was commissioned by Bristol City Council in 2010 at a cost of ^225,000.

It ran for six months in the harbour last year but has since been moored.

Councillor Richard Eddy called it a "white elephant", but Mayor George Ferguson said it had "served us well in terms of... environmental credentials".

The 12-seater passenger ferry was designed and built by Bristol Hydrogen Boats, a consortium of ferry operators and Auriga Energy.

It was operated as part of a six-month trial last year, but has not been used since.

"If you want a low-carbon boat, having a motionless boat moored up is a triumph because it's not going to create any carbon footprint," said Mr Eddy. "In my view it's been a wasteful white elephant."

Mr Ferguson, who was elected in 2012, said it would "never have happened" under his regime. "I don't think councils are here to do research and development projects but having said that it was a factor in our submission to European Green Capital," he said. "It has served a purpose but was not good value."

But Richard Rankin from Hydrogen Boats, said it would be "viable" if there was a hydrogen station "in place".

"We had to rent a filling station for six months at a cost of ^59,000," he said. "But we're converting the ferry to run on bottled hydrogen and will be running it next year."

[Richard Fairhurst]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Keith Dunstan, director of Bristol Hydrogen Boats, says the vessel is the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)'s first hydrogen fuel-celled boat.

Nope! Birmingham University built one a few years back - a narrowboat called the Ross Barlow.

[JayMac]

And a university is the right place for such technology to built and funded by.

I disagree with Mayor Ferguson that the hydrogen boat served it's purpose. River transport in Bristol is a tiny percentage of the overall use of public transport in the city. Money would have been much better spent on hydrogen fuel cell technology for land based vehicles.

Bristol successfully won with it's bid to be European Green Capital in 2015 and the hydrogen fuelled waterbus was part of the submission. It wasn't however referenced in the Jury Panel report and only received one line in the Expert Evaluation Panel report. Copenhagen's submission was far more comprehensive with regard to hydrogen fuel cell technology. Their plan is to have all the vehicles used by the city running on either electricity or hydrogen by 2015. Bristol will still be using a large fleet of diesel vans for the foreseeable future.

[TonyK]

Bristol will still be using a large fleet of diesel vans for the foreseeable future.

And MetroBust. It seems the normal rules of cost-benefit ratios are far from fixed. Reading between the lines, this boat was doomed to the sidelines once the Jury Panel's report had been made, without mentioning it. Had it been given a few lines, then it would have remained in service, trundling VIPs around the harbour, until 2016.

It's a shame, but it was never viable, especially not at the premium price charged for the journey when compared to Bristol Ferries et al, who cover a much wider area. Hydrogen for commercial use is made by using superheated steam to knock carbon atoms from methane, usually at a pressure of 20 atmospheres or so (300 psi). Enough could have been made for this project using electrolysis, powered by a solar panel or Economy 7 electricity. The lack of political will did for the Hydrogenesis in Bristol. Hopefully, all is not lost, and somewhere else can make better use of it.