Trains that emit steam: Hydrogen-powered locos start chugging in Germany

Germany launched the world’s first fleet of hydrogen-powered passenger trains on Wednesday. The new hydrogen-powered trains will replace the 15 diesel trains operated on nonelectrified tracks in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Coradia iLint, the world’s first hydrogen train, is manufactured by the French company Alstom. It only emits steam and condensed water while operating, along with a low noise level. These 14 trains use hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity that powers the engines. The German government has backed the introduction of these trains to expand the use of hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels. The 14 hydrogen-powered passenger trains are operated by a regional local rail company, Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft Niedersachsen (LNVG).

According to the manufacturer, Coradia iLint trains have a range of up to 1,000 km or 621 miles, with a maximum speed of 140 kph (87 mph). Coradia iLint will operate on the routes between the northern towns of Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervoerde, and Buxtehude. The 14 trains can run all day long on just one tank.

Alstom has three other contracts in the pipeline for hydrogen fuel cell-powered trains. While one of them is for Germany’s Frankfurt area, which includes 27 trains, the third and fourth are from Italy and France, respectively. The government is contributing 8.4 mn euros for the cost of the vehicles and 4.3 mn euros for the filling stations.

Coradia iLint features various innovations, including flexible energy storage in batteries, intelligent management of motive power and available energy, and clean energy conversion. The Coradia was specifically developed for its use on the nonelectrified lines. It enables clean and sustainable train operation while maintaining high performance.

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