DB: Hydrogen is put to the test

Already 90 per cent of passenger and freight transport in Germany is electrically powered. But it is above all the last 10 per cent that pose a challenge for the railway companies. The conversion to greener alternatives is expensive and technologically demanding. While for older trains there is still the possibility of a simpler - albeit not optimal - conversion to biodiesel, newer train models represent an opportunity for Deutsche Bahn to make a real change. 

Within the next 20 years, the transport company wants to say goodbye to diesel engines and become climate-neutral. To this end, Deutsche Bahn is working with Siemens to put the first fuel-cell-powered train on German rails. A train that just completed its first test run last Friday - including the new refuelling process with a mobile hydrogen filling station.  

The new train "Mireo Plus H" has a range of about 1000 kilometres and can reach a top speed of up to 160 km/h, the company says. And all this, according to the company's statements after the premiere journey, without emitting anything other than water vapour. Before the hydrogen train goes into operation in 2024 - probably initially only on the route between Tübingen, Horb and Pforzheim - further test runs are planned from next January. The project is also supported by a grant totalling 13.74 million euros from the Federal Ministry of Transport. Like the railway company, the government has high hopes for hydrogen technology. 

But the company does not want to stop there; it is pursuing yet another project - which is intended to confirm DB's commitment to hydrogen as a particularly climate-friendly form of propulsion. Recently, Deutsche Bahn announced that it will be available as a supplier of large quantities of hydrogen to industry. This is to facilitate the transport processes - for example from the ports in the north, where the imported hydrogen arrives.  

When the new trains with fuel cell drives arrive, they will then transport hydrogen in the freight railway's existing tank cars. Thus, green trains will carry green fuel. For all this to work, however, he said, it is essential that Deutsche Bahn and the government invest more in the rail infrastructure. In addition, more speed is needed, because on average only 65 kilometres of new track were electrified every year. The nationwide electrification of the rail network will not be cheap either, costing about 21 billion euros. But without an efficient and reliable railway network, Deutsche Bahn otherwise runs the risk that both projects, and thus green mobility, will fail miserably.