Germany’s state-owned rail operator, Deutsche Bahn, is planning to replace its diesel-powered trains with new ones that use hydrogen as fuel, and leave only steam and water behind.
The first test train, developed by DB and Siemens, will get a year-long trial on a route in southern Germany. It will have a range of about 600 kilometers between fueling. By 2024, the two companies say, they will have developed stations that can refuel a train in fifteen minutes, the same as it now takes for diesel.
Siemens competitor, Alstom, has also moved into the hydrogen-fueled train market and has several trains in operation on various systems, but the Siemens arrangement with DB will be the largest commitment yet made. Germany also has a multi-billion Euro initiative in place to produce ‘green’ hydrogen.
