BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany on Wednesday will inaugurate a railway line powered entirely by hydrogen, a “world first” and a major step forward for green train transport despite nagging supply challenges.
A fleet of 14 trains provided by French industrial giant Alstom to the German state Lower Saxony will replace the diesel locomotives on the 100 kilometers of track connecting the cities of Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervoerde and Buxtehude near Hamburg.
“Whatever the time of day, passengers will travel on this route thanks to hydrogen,” Stefan Schrank, project manager at Alstom, told AFP, hailing a “world first.”
Hydrogen trains have become a promising way to decarbonize the rail sector and replace diesel, which still powers 20 percent of journeys in Germany.
Billed as a “zero emission” mode of transport, the trains mix hydrogen on board with oxygen present in the ambient air, thanks to a fuel cell installed in the roof. This produces the electricity needed to pull the train.
In Germany alone “between 2,500 and 3,000 diesel trains could be replaced by hydrogen models,” Schrank estimates.
“By 2035, around 15 to 20 percent of the regional European market could run on hydrogen,” Alexandre Charpentier, rail expert at consultancy Roland Berger, told AFP.