(Bilbao/Spain) – The Spanish electricity company Iberdrola SA and the Spanish rail vehicle manufacturer CAF (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles) want to work together to advance the use of green hydrogen in the railway sector. There are currently many railway lines with sections that are difficult to electrify and on which fossil fuel-powered trains are used. The aim of the alliance is to find solutions for these lines without installing overhead lines on the routes or making other major structural changes.
The project, led by CAF, is already at an advanced stage of development. Tests are scheduled to begin as early as April this year with the prototype hydrogen train developed by CAF at its factory in Zaragoza as part of the FCH2RAIL project. According to the information, the chassis is based on a local train from the Civia series from the Spanish state railway company RENFE.
Iberdrola currently has two operational green hydrogen production facilities in Spain. The pilot train draws fuel from the new facility in Barcelona, which went into operation in early 2022. From the Zona Franca location, near the airport, local public transport buses operated by the operator TMB will also be supplied with hydrogen in the future.
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A prototype of the hydrogen train is scheduled to be tested as early as April. © Iberdrola
