According to New Atlas, a batch of Coradia Ailent trains powered by 100% hydrogen fuel cells has begun passenger service in Lower Saxony, Germany, four years after the start of a two-year operational test run.
The successful operation of two Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel cell trains was part of a two-year passenger service trial that began in September 2018.
The project has now been properly started, with 14 trains now in operation constructed by Alstom specialists at the Regional Train Facility in Salzgitter, Germany, and the Traction Systems Center in Tarbes, France.
Lower Saxony’s Ministry of Transport, for its part, acquired the trains as part of a replacement strategy for diesel locomotives, as well as a vow to purchase trains that run on alternative diesel fuel, such as a hydrogen fuel cell or an electric battery.
The new trains are environmentally friendly since they only emit steam and condensed water. It also has a 1,000-kilometer range and is expected to run on a single tank of hydrogen for an entire day of operation throughout the route at speeds ranging from 80 to 120 km/h, with the trains capable of reaching speeds of up to 140 km/h.
The Linde-operated hydrogen filling station in Bremerford, which has 64 high-pressure tanks (500 bar), six compressors, and two fuel pumps, will replenish each train’s fuel tanks on a regular basis. On-site hydrogen generation by electrolysis and renewable energy is envisaged for the future.
The remaining hydrogen-powered train fleet is expected to join by the end of 2022, replacing 15 diesel-powered trains and saving around 1. 6 million litres of fuel and 4,400 tonnes of CO2.
He describes the programme as a global role model, as well as a magnificent example of Lower Saxony’s successful transformation. It represents a big step toward carbon neutrality in the transportation sector.
Meanwhile, Alstom has been contracted to provide 27 hydrogen fuel cell trains in Frankfurt, as well as six hydrogen trains for the Italian Lombardy region and dozens more for other French districts.
Furthermore, operational experiments are being carried out in Poland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Austria.
In Germany, hydrogen trains have successfully entered operation.
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