Ship Electrification

The Scripps Research Fleet, an essential oceanographic research tool, emmits air pollutants and contributes to global warming. As an institution working on the forefront of climate science, Scripps must actively work to reduce its impact on people and the environment. Reducing emisions from its research fleet would be a significant and meaningful step in this direction.

I started a petition to ask Scripps to commit to transitioning to a zero-emissions research fleet. The petition gathered over 100 signatures from the Scripps and UCSD community, and was submitted to the Scripps administration with an accompanying letter. An article about the petition was published in the UCSD Climate Review.

The Scripps administration has not yet responded to the petition or made any commitments to zero-emissions ships. A hydrogen-hybrid ship, however, has been awarded $35 million in the 2021 California state budget. This ship will replace the R/V Sproul and will be able to conduct about 75% of its missions using only hydrogen power, leading to overal emissions reductions of about 25%.