(Weeze/Berlin) – Deutsche Bahn wants to test a newly developed hydrogen-powered train and its refueling as part of a project called “H2goesRail”. “Green hydrogen can be a success in rail transport if fast, reliable and competitive refueling times are possible compared to conventional diesel systems,” says Torsten Schein, head of DB Energie GmbH.
The system is being developed in close coordination between Deutsche Bahn and the North Rhine-Westphalian Wystrach GmbH. It will consist of a tank container and a gas station. The latter contains, among other things, a 500 bar storage tank, a compressor, hydrogen pre-cooling and two filling sets. The system can be supplied with hydrogen either at the filling plant or through electrolysis and compression on site. According to the information, the scope of delivery includes the control and safety technology, and a communication standard between the gas station and the train is also being developed.
Wystrach, a system supplier for hydrogen technology, is already on the market with a mobile hydrogen filling station called “WyRefueler”. The entire system consisting of train and filling station is developed, tested and optimized by DB Energie.
Quick refueling in 15 minutes
According to the railway, the core of the filling station is “a new type of quick refueling system” that is now to be tested. The system makes it possible to refuel the hydrogen trains within 15 minutes, even in busy local transport - something that was previously only possible with diesel refueling. “This first hydrogen filling station will be part of an overall system consisting of a filling station, a local train newly designed by Siemens Mobility and maintenance from DB Regio that has been made fit for hydrogen trains,” it says in a statement. Tests lasting several weeks lay the foundation for the initial approval and construction of the new system. Commissioning is scheduled for summer next year.
The development of the new gas station is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure with around four million euros as part of the “H2020goesRail” joint funding project that has been running since 2. Industrial partners are the Ulm company Wenger Engineering and the family business Wystrach from Weeze on the Lower Rhine.
Green hydrogen is produced locally
DB Energie is responsible for the hydrogen supply in the project - from production through electrolysis to storage and provision. The green hydrogen is produced directly on site using green electricity, compressed, stored in a mobile storage unit and processed and cooled in the adjacent tank trailer before refueling.
Last November, Deutsche Bahn announced that Siemens would develop a regional train called “Mireo Plus H” with a hydrogen drive system consisting of a fuel cell and a lithium-ion battery (we reported). The two-part vehicle is designed for a range of 600 kilometers. A three-part variant had a range of 1.000 kilometers, it was said at the time. The maximum speed is 160 kilometers per hour.
During the one-year test run between Tübingen, Horb and Pforzheim planned for 2024, the train will replace a diesel multiple unit running there. Around 120.000 kilometers of rail operations are planned. According to the company, the route is particularly suitable “because of the exemplary timing of the timetable for regional transport and the varied topography”. An initial simulation of the route has already taken place. In order to ensure smooth operations and to be able to service the train regularly, the DB Regio factory in Ulm is being made ready for hydrogen vehicles.
Alstom is already driving
However, Deutsche Bahn and Siemens are not the first companies to put hydrogen on the rails. While Siemens still proclaims on its website, “The future of hydrogen technology begins now,” other manufacturers are already running trains. As reported, the French company Alstom delivered hydrogen trains for test operations in 2020, for example to the Austrian Federal Railways, as well as to Italy, the Netherlands and several German federal states; most recently to Poland in June.
In November, the Italian railway company Ferrovie Nord Milano ordered six “iLint” trains from Alstom. In Germany, regional transport companies want to integrate the “iLint” into regular operations from 2022.
deep link
https://gruen.deutschebahn.com/de/news/wasserstofftankstelle
https://www.wystrach.gmbh/aktuelles-bei-wystrach.html
Photos
Wystrach is developing the refueling infrastructure for the planned hydrogen train / © Deutsche Bahn
