Yes, hydrogen ferries are sailing today, but only a handful of them, and the best-known examples entered service two to three years after delivery. If you are looking for a hydrogen ferry in the UK, or wondering whether hydrogen is the best way to decarbonise passenger ferries, the short answer is that it is still a niche technology. The UK’s flagship project, in Orkney, has not progressed beyond design.
Fuel is a large part of the problem. A hydrogen ferry is only as clean as the hydrogen it burns, and in 2024 low-emissions hydrogen made up under 1% of global hydrogen production, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Most still comes from natural gas. The fuel is also bulky to store and hard to deliver to the quayside. Below we look at the few vessels that made it into service, the projects that stalled, and the battery-electric ferries that have so far been far more widely adopted.
How a hydrogen ferry works
Most hydrogen ferries use fuel cells. These combine hydrogen with oxygen from the air to make electricity, with water and heat as the only by-products. The electricity drives electric motors, usually alongside an onboard battery that covers power peaks such as docking. The same basic technology is being tested in other transport, including hydrogen fuel cells in aviation.
The hydrogen is stored on board either as compressed gas or as liquid hydrogen. To stay liquid, it must be kept at about −253 °C, which makes the storage system considerably more complex than a diesel tank.
How clean the ferry is depends on how the hydrogen is made. Hydrogen produced by electrolysis using renewable electricity (see our guide to green hydrogen) has low emissions. Hydrogen made from natural gas does not. Until supply shifts, many hydrogen ferries will still depend indirectly on fossil fuels.
Real-world examples: the vessels that made it
MF Hydra (Norway)
MF Hydra, run by the operator Norled, is described as the first ferry powered by liquid hydrogen fuel cells. It entered commercial service on about 31 March 2023, after quayside tests and approval by the Norwegian Maritime Authority, on the Hjelmeland–Nesvik route in Rogaland, western Norway. It carries up to 299 passengers and 80 cars.
Getting there took time. The ferry was delivered in the second quarter of 2021 and was originally due to start that year, but entered service about two years late. Linde Engineering supplied the hydrogen systems and Ballard the fuel cells.
The supply chain shows the challenge. According to trade press reports, the liquid hydrogen came from a Linde electrolyser at Leuna in Germany, so fuel for a Norwegian ferry was being produced and liquefied in another country.
Sea Change (San Francisco, USA)
In the United States, Sea Change, a 70-foot catamaran with 75 seats, began a free pilot service on San Francisco Bay on 19 July 2024. Running three days a week between Pier 41 and the Ferry Building, it was billed as the world’s first commercial passenger ferry to run fully on hydrogen fuel cells.
A $3 million grant from the California Air Resources Board helped pay for its construction. It, too, was slow to reach passengers: reports say it was delivered in August 2021 and first fuelled in November 2021, about three years before passenger service began.
The fuel source comes with a caveat. Local broadcaster KQED reported that some of the electricity used to make the hydrogen still came from natural gas. The pilot was planned to last six months; we found no report of what happened to the service after that.
Torghatten Nord (Norway)
Norway is also planning hydrogen ferries for longer routes. On 25 January 2022 the Norwegian Public Roads Administration awarded Torghatten Nord a 15-year contract, running from October 2025, to operate hydrogen ferries on the Bodø–Røst–Værøy–Moskenes route to Lofoten, Norway’s longest national road ferry route.
The contract, worth NOK 4.98 billion, requires two new vessels to get at least 85% of their energy from low-emission hydrogen. The agency estimated they would cut CO2 on the route by 26,500 tonnes a year compared with the current LNG ferries. Trade press reports say the ships, built by Myklebust Verft, are about 117 m long, carry up to 120 cars and were expected to be delivered in 2026. We could not confirm whether they have entered service as of October 2026.
What the numbers say
Storage physics shapes ferry design. Figures from the IEA’s Advanced Motor Fuels programme put liquid hydrogen at 8.5 megajoules per litre, against 32.89 MJ/L for diesel. On those figures, liquid hydrogen needs roughly 3.9 times the tank volume of diesel for the same energy, before counting the insulation needed to keep it at −253 °C.
Costs are harder to pin down. We found no reliable public figures comparing the capital and fuel costs of hydrogen ferries with diesel or battery ferries, so claims of lifetime savings or lower maintenance cannot currently be backed up.
Limitations and honest assessment
Delay is the most consistent theme. MF Hydra took about two years from delivery to service and Sea Change about three. The technology works, but getting vessels, fuel and approvals lined up has been slow.
Fuel supply is the main bottleneck. Partners in the HyDIME project in Orkney named moving hydrogen from where it is made to the ferry as the biggest challenge. MF Hydra’s reported reliance on hydrogen from Germany points the same way: for many routes, hydrogen is not yet a locally available fuel.
Bulk is the other constraint. Hydrogen is mainly proposed for longer or more exposed routes where batteries would be too heavy, but its low energy per litre means large tanks wherever it is used.
The UK angle: Orkney
The UK’s hydrogen ferry work has centred on Orkney since at least 2018.
HyDIME (2018–2019)
Innovate UK granted £430,332 for a 12-month project starting in August 2018, led by Ferguson Marine with Orkney Islands Council, HSSMI, EMEC and Lloyd’s Register. The aim was to design and fit a hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel injection system on a commercial ferry on the Kirkwall–Shapinsay route, with the hydrogen helping to power auxiliary units. The hydrogen was to come from EMEC’s electrolyser on Eday, powered by surplus local renewable electricity. A partner’s techno-economic report called the system a “feasible stepping stone”. We could not confirm whether a hydrogen-injected engine ever operated in regular service.
HySeas III
The more ambitious EU-funded HySeas III project designed a double-ended seagoing hydrogen fuel-cell car ferry for the same Kirkwall–Shapinsay route, carrying 120 passengers and 16 cars or two trucks. Concept designs were by AqualisBraemar LOC, while Kongsberg Maritime led testing of the drivetrain in Norway with Ballard. The design was expected to be finished in March 2022, after which the ferry operator CMAL would seek funding to build it. We found no announcement that a ferry has been ordered for the route as of October 2026, nor any announcement that the project was cancelled.
Separately, Orkney College developed a hydrogen safety course for seafarers, approved by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
Battery ferries: the main competitor
Battery-electric ferries are far more common. Norway alone operated roughly 70 of them in 2024, over half of its ferry fleet, according to the European Alternative Fuels Observatory.
MF Ampere, launched in May 2015, was billed as the world’s first electric car and passenger ferry. The 80 m catamaran carries 120 vehicles and 360 passengers on the 6 km Lavik–Oppedal crossing, 34 times a day, using a 1 MWh battery. It avoids about 1 million litres of diesel and about 2,680 tonnes of CO2 a year. Larger battery ferries have followed, including Denmark’s Ellen (2019) and Norway’s Bastø Electric (2021), both with 4.3 MWh batteries.
Battery ferries suit short, frequent crossings with charging at each end. Hydrogen is mainly proposed for longer routes, such as the Lofoten crossing. No authoritative global count of hydrogen ferries exists, but against roughly 70 battery ferries in Norway alone, the handful of hydrogen vessels in service is a small number.
Hydrogen vs ammonia vs methanol
If hydrogen is so bulky, why not use another fuel? Ammonia and methanol are the main alternatives under discussion for shipping.
Liquid ammonia holds more energy per litre than liquid hydrogen (12.69 MJ/L when cooled), needing about 2.6 times the tank volume of diesel, and it can be stored as a liquid at moderate pressures and temperatures. However, ammonia is toxic, which raises safety questions on passenger ships.
Methanol, at 15.65 MJ/L, needs about 2.1 times the tank volume of diesel. It is also further ahead in the market: by June 2025 more than 60 methanol-powered vessels were in operation and nearly 300 were on order, according to the IEA.
Policy drivers
In July 2023 the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted a revised greenhouse gas strategy, aiming for net-zero emissions from international shipping by or around 2050. Its checkpoints, compared with 2008, are cuts of at least 20% by 2030 and at least 70% by 2040. Zero or near-zero fuels should supply at least 5% of international shipping’s energy by 2030.
The IMO Net-Zero Framework, which would add a global fuel standard and emissions pricing, was approved in principle in 2025, but in October 2025 member states voted to adjourn its adoption for a year. It has not been adopted; adoption is due to be reconsidered in December 2026.
In the UK, the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy (March 2025) targets cuts in domestic maritime emissions of at least 30% by 2030 and 80% by 2040, compared with 2008. The government has also said maritime will be brought into the UK Emissions Trading Scheme from 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Are there any hydrogen ferries in service?
Yes, a handful. The best known is MF Hydra in Norway, which entered service in March 2023 as the first liquid-hydrogen ferry. In the US, Sea Change began a pilot service in San Francisco in July 2024.
Is there a hydrogen ferry in the UK or Orkney?
Not yet. The HyDIME project ran from 2018 to 2019, and the HySeas III ferry design was due to be completed in 2022. We found no announcement of a hydrogen ferry being ordered or built for the Kirkwall–Shapinsay route as of October 2026.
Why are battery ferries more common than hydrogen ferries?
They suit the short, frequent crossings that make up much of Norway’s network, where they can charge at each end, and they do not depend on a hydrogen supply chain. Norway operated roughly 70 battery-electric ferries in 2024, compared with only a handful of hydrogen ferries worldwide.
Is hydrogen or ammonia better for ships?
There is no settled answer. Ammonia holds more energy per litre and is easier to store than liquid hydrogen, but it is toxic, which is a concern on passenger ships. Methanol is currently further ahead than either, with more than 60 vessels in operation by June 2025.
Where does the hydrogen for ferries come from, and is it green?
Most hydrogen today is made from natural gas; low-emissions hydrogen was under 1% of global production in 2024. MF Hydra’s hydrogen was reportedly produced in Germany, and Sea Change’s was partly made with electricity from natural gas.
What are the IMO’s targets for cutting shipping emissions?
The IMO aims for net-zero emissions from international shipping by or around 2050, with cuts of at least 20% by 2030 and 70% by 2040 compared with 2008. By 2030, zero or near-zero fuels should supply at least 5% of international shipping’s energy, and carbon intensity should fall by at least 40%.