Transport

Hydrogen-powered trains enter passenger service in Germany

View 6 Images
Following successful operational trials, a fleet of 14 Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel-cell trains will enter passenger service in Lower Saxony, Germany, by the end of 2022
Alstom
Following successful operational trials, a fleet of 14 Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel-cell trains will enter passenger service in Lower Saxony, Germany, by the end of 2022
Alstom
Five Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel-cell trains are reported to have entered passenger service now, with nine more set to join them by the close of 2022 - replacing 15 diesel trains on the rail network
EVB/Sabrina Adeline Nagel
Each train has a range of 1,000 km and is expected to need refueling just once per day
EVB/Sabrina Adeline Nagel
The Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel-cell trains are operating along a 100% hydrogen-fueled passenger route from Cuxhaven to Buxtehude in Lower Saxony, Germany
EVB/Sabrina Adeline Nagel
The Coradia iLint is reported clean and quiet, emitting only steam and condensed water
EVB/Sabrina Adeline Nagel
The Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel-cell train will travel at speeds of 80 to 120 km/h on the EVB network, but has a top speed of 140 km/h
EVB/Sabrina Adeline Nagel
View gallery - 6 images

Four years after embarking on a two-year operational trial run in Germany, a bunch of Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel-cell trains have entered passenger service along a 100% hydrogen route in Lower Saxony.

The passenger service trial, which began in September 2018 and ran for almost two years, involved the successful operation of two pre-series Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel-cell trains along an existing route operated by Eisenbahnen und Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser (EVB).

Now the project has officially entered public service, and expanded to 14 trains designed by Alstom engineers at the regional trains facility in Salzgitter, Germany, and the traction systems center in Tarbes, France. They were purchased by Lower Saxony Ministry of Transport and are owned by the state-run Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft Niedersachsen mbH (LNVG) railway authority, which started looking for alternatives to diesel locomotives in 2012 and has committed to buying only non-diesel (hydrogen fuel cell or battery electric) trains from here on in.

The Coradia iLint is reported clean and quiet, emitting only steam and condensed water
EVB/Sabrina Adeline Nagel

Emitting only steam and condensed water, and with a range of 1,000 km (~620 miles), each train is expected to operate on a single tank of hydrogen for a full day's service along the route between Cuxhaven, Bremerhave, Bremervörde and Buxtehude. Travel speeds on the EVB network are reported to run between 80 and 120 km/h (50 - 74.5 mph), but the trains can get up to 140 km/h (87 mph).

They will each get daily top-ups at the Linde hydrogen filling station at Bremervörde, which is home to 64 high-pressure (500-bar) storage tanks, six compressors and two fuel pumps. Future plans call for hydrogen production on site via "electrolysis and regeneratively generated electricity."

Five of the Coradia iLints are currently in operation according to EVB, with the remainder expected to join the fleet by the end of 2022 – replacing 15 diesel trains operating on the network, and saving an estimated 1.6 million liters of diesel and 4,400 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Five Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel-cell trains are reported to have entered passenger service now, with nine more set to join them by the close of 2022 - replacing 15 diesel trains on the rail network
EVB/Sabrina Adeline Nagel

"This project is a worldwide role model," said Premier of Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil. "It is an excellent example of a successful transformation Made in Lower Saxony. As a state of renewable energies, we are setting a milestone on the path to climate neutrality in the transport sector."

Alstom's hydrogen-powered train plans aren't stopping with Lower Saxony, the company has also been contracted to supply 27 Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel-cell trains to the Frankfurt metropolitan area, as well as six Coradia Stream hydrogen trains for the Lombardy region in Italy, and a dozen Coradia Polyvant hydrogen trains for different regions in France. The company has been running operational trials in Poland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Austria as well.

Source: Alstom

View gallery - 6 images
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Flipboard
  • LinkedIn
8 comments
Username
"Emitting only steam and condensed water". There is no such thing as condensed water.
Robt
How is the hydrogen currently sourced?
FB36
It is extremely bad idea to use hydrogen as fuel for land/sea/air transportation because it is pretty much explosive!
Imagine a future world w/ all kinds of hydrogen vehicles, tanker trucks, gas stations everywhere!
Are we seriously thinking that there will be never any accidents/leaks/ruptures/mishandling to trigger massive explosions?

Not to mention, there is actually no need at all to use hydrogen as fuel!
All light/small vehicles are already becoming fully electric & all heavy/big land/sea/air vehicles just need us to start producing biodiesel/biofuel at large scales!
(From all possible industrial/agricultural/forestry waste/biomass & trash & sewage!)
G.F. Brown
If the hydrogen is sourced by breaking down water, wouldn't that put an even higher strain on our scarce water resources?
byrneheart
Don't worry gf Brown, rising sea levels due to global warming means we have plenty of water in many places on the globe .
Reece Agland
The big question is where is the hydrogen coming from? If it is the most common current source, then it is black hydrogen, the making of which creates a lot of greenhouse gases, particularly C02 and Methane. In that case Germany is avoiding greenhouse gasses, it's just exporting them to the source country. Our planet doesn't account for greenhouse gases this way though, it's one planet.
Having said that, will be interesting to see the costs of running this system over the next few years.
CarolynFarstrider
This is a good experiment to be undertaking. It may not be perfect yet in terms of its environmental credentials, but it's a great start and will serve to demonstrate some of remaining challenges. The UK is also experimenting with hydrogen trains, to add to end of line services where the electric overhead lines run out.
WONKY KLERKY
From, and ~ as/my comments on discharge from hydrogen fueled road vehicles:
Botty Line:
Care to be taken as to where the water/steam discharge goes.
ie. It can get distinctly nippy in der wintereisen in Lower Saxony and it might not be prudent to shoot it onto the rails / anywhere where close to train where it can build up to cause a prob'.
eg. When standing in station + level crossing.

The road discharge is, I think more obviously, is of more concern with multiple vehicles contributing to a black ice skid-pan scenario.

All in all, a case for onboard discharge capture tanks in winter, at least.