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Plan on visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island via ferry next
year? If so, pay close attention to the vessel you board, as it just
might be the world's first to rely on hydrogen, solar and wind power
for motorization. Currently, the New York Hornblower Hybrid (not to be
confused with the San Francisco Hornblower Hybrid) is under
construction in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and if all goes well, it'll
reach completion in April. The 600-passenger boat be equipped with
Tier 2 diesel engines, hydrogen fuel cells, solar panels and wind
turbines, with power coming from a proton exchange membrane fuel cell
that turns hydrogen into electricity. We're told that the diesel rigs
will only kick in to cover "additional energy needs," but it's hard to
say how often they'll actually be used. The eventual goal, however, is
to do away with emissions altogether in the ferry process, and it
seems that the technology is already capable of being scaled for use
in other hybrid ferries, hybrid yachts and even hybrid tugs.
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