Zero Emission Industries. Zero Emission Industries, Inc. (ZEI) is an American hydrogen technology company founded in 2018 and headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. Previously known as Golden Gate Zero Emission Marine, ZEI designs and manufactures hydrogen fuel cell power systems and hydrogen refueling solutions with a focus on maritime applications.

ZEI is best known for designing the hydrogen system onboard the Sea Change (previously known as the Water-Go-Round), the first commercial hydrogen fuel cell ferry in the United States.

History 
In 2016, Joe Pratt, a mechanical engineer at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, CA, helped lead a feasibility study to see if a zero-emission hydrogen charter ferry could be built. After working with  two dozen regulatory agencies and a dozen private companies for two years, Pratt and his colleagues at Sandia concluded that it was possible.

In 2017, Pratt co-authored a study examining if hydrogen fuel cell technology could be used in a wide range of maritime vessels, including giant container ships, fishing trawlers, and passenger boats. The study titled “Practical Application Limits of Fuel Cells and Batteries for Zero Emission Vessels” identified hydrogen fuel cells to be the most capable zero emission power source especially for low-power, long duration missions. 

Pratt left Sandia in 2018 to start what is now Zero Emission Industries. Known at the time as Golden Gate Zero Emission Marine, ZEI and a team of industry partners received a $3 million grant from the California Air Resources Board to build the first hydrogen fuel cell passenger ferry in the United States.

The vessel, named the Water-Go-Round, was developed as a platform for proving the viability of zero emission hydrogen power as a climate-friendly maritime shipping fuel. ZEI collaborated with partners such as BAE Systems, Hydrogenics, and Hexagon Composites on the design of the Water-Go-Round.

In 2019, SW/TCH Maritime purchased the Water-Go-Round from Golden Gate Zero Emission Marine.

In 2020, the Water-Go-Round was rebranded to the Sea Change.

In 2021, Zero Emission Industries received a $2 million grant from the California Energy Commission to design, build, and test a first-of-its-kind hydrogen fuel cell powered harbor craft.

Work 
Zero Emission Industries developed the hydrogen and fuel cell power systems onboard the 70-foot Sea Change catamaran ferry and obtained regulatory approvals of all hydrogen-related aspects onboard. The vessel utilizes ZEI’s patented hydrogen fueling system which allows it to be fueled directly from a hydrogen truck. The hydrogen and power includes 360kW of fuel cells from Cummins and 242 kg of hydrogen storage tanks from Hexagon Purus, and a 600kW electric propulsion system from BAE Systems which includes 100kWh of lithium-ion battery storage from XALT. 

ZEI is also developing a hydrogen fuel cell powered harbor craft. Instead of using  a combustion engine, the hydrogen fuel cell powertrain will use automotive-style fuel cell technology.  The boat will use  ZEI’s man  portable systems for marine vessel fueling, using hydrogen from retail hydrogen stations in California.

References 

Non-renewable resource companies established in 2018
Companies based in San Francisco
2018 establishments in California