Hydrogen is an alternative fuel for trains, especially for diesel locomotives. Using one kilogram of hydrogen as a fuel for trains replaces approximately 4.5 liters of diesel.
Alstom
Linde has started building the world’s first hydrogen refueling station for passenger trains, in Bremervörde, Germany. The Coradia iLint train manufactured by Alstom is the world’s first passenger train to be powered by fuel cells and hydrogen. The station, which is planned to start operations in 2022, will serve 14 hydrogen-powered passenger trains. The project is co-funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure within the scope of the National Innovation Program Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology.
The H2 refueling station in Bremervörde will lay the foundation for zero-emission hydrogen trains in commercial service throughout the Elbe-Weser public transport network. With a range of 1,000 kilometers, the multiple-unit trains will be able to travel the network run by the Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser GmbH (evb) transport authority for an entire day on just one tank.
The hydrogen refueling station will have a capacity of around 1,600 kilograms of hydrogen per day, making it one of the largest hydrogen stations in terms of nameplate capacity ever built. It will be constructed with scope for future on-site hydrogen generation using electrolysis and renewable energy. Bremervörde’s station design already provides for expansion with the potential to leverage synergies with other forms of transport. The Hydrogen refueling station could, for example, be used in the future to refuel buses and other municipal vehicles, thus increasing capacity utilization.
The Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) are also currently conducting a trial run of a Coradia iLint train in regular passenger service in southern Austria.