The first hydrogen-powered passenger trains built by Alstom SA are set to debut in Germany and establish a toehold for the technology in Europe. After a lengthy trial period on a 123-kilometer (76-mile) track in Lower Saxony, Germany, commercial operations will begin next March, according to Carmen Schwabl, managing director at rail operator LNVG. Alstom’s 14 Coradia iLint passenger trains will ply a regional line between Buxtehude, outside Hamburg, and the beach town of Cuxhaven.
Alstom has been promoting trains that run on fuel cells for more than five years as an alternative to carbon-emitting diesel engines. In addition to the German project, the world’s second-biggest rail equipment supplier won an order earlier this month from France’s national railroad for a dual hydrogen-electric train and has garnered other contracts in Germany and Italy.
Its rival Siemens AG is also developing hydrogen trains and the European market is estimated to grow to tens of billions of dollars in the coming years as emissions rules get tougher. While battery packs or power lines can also be used to electrify rail travel and cut pollution, this isn’t always a practical solution depending on the route.
“Europe will definitely be the main market,” Alstom Chief Executive Officer Henri Poupart-Lafarge said Wednesday during a company webinar, citing France, Germany, Italy and the U.K. as countries with large diesel fleets. Fuel supply and infrastructure need to be expanded, he said, but “the trains are ready.”