The photo is sourced from alstom.com
Transition to fuel cells converting hydrogen chemical energy into electrical energy will dramatically reduce CO2 emissions: the train will emit only steam and water condensate into the atmosphere instead of carbon dioxide. Another project benefit will be an increased energy efficiency. As Alstom estimates, consumption of 1 kg of hydrogen will be equivalent to consumption of 4.5 kg of diesel fuel.
The train range – the distance to be covered without refuelling – will be 1,000 km, and its maximum speed – 140 km/h. The train will be refueled in Bremerwerde with its 64 tanks to store a total of 1,800 kg of hydrogen at 500 bar pressure. The German LNVG is going to put a total of 14 fuel cell trains on the line, which will replace 15 diesel trains running between the cities of Bremerwerde, Bremerhaven, Buxtehude and Cuxhaven.
The contract with LNVG was Alstom’s first out of four agreements for the supply of fuel cell trains. The company also plans to build 27 trains for the Frankfurt metropolitan area, 6 trains for the Italian Lombardy region and 12 trains for several departments in France. The pilot train project has previously been successfully tested in Austria, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden.
The project will contribute to decarbonisation of rail transport accounting for 1% of the global transport sector emissions (with the road transport share of 75% and air and water transport – 13% and 11% respectively, according to McKinsey’s estimates). Fuel cell technology is supposed to become widespread in maritime and air transport in the coming years. The Dutch shipyard Next Generation Shipyards is going to build the world’s first ship to be powered using a solid form of hydrogen by June 2023, and the Australian airline Skytrans and startup Stralis Aircraft plan retrofitting of the 19-seat Beechcraft 1900D airliner, replacing its turbofan engine and kerosene fuel system with a hydrogen-electric power plant and a hydrogen storage tank.
