(Bilbao / Spain) – The Spanish energy supplier Iberdrola SA wants to help convert the Italian Apennine railway to green hydrogen with an international consortium. The trains connect the Italian hinterland between Sansepolcro (Arezzo) and Sulmona (L'Aquila) on a route of more than 300 kilometers that runs through Tuscany, Umbria, Lacio and Abruzos as well as Perugia, Terni, Rieti and L'Aquila. Part of it is not electrified and is operated by diesel locomotives that have reached the end of their useful life, the company said: switching to green hydrogen as a fuel is “a significantly cheaper alternative than traditional electrification” and will “innovate and develop into the areas affected by depopulation and deindustrialization.”
To implement this, Iberdrola, the American engineering service provider AECOM, the Italian project developer Ancitel Energia e Ambiente Srl and the Italian hydrogen producer Cinque International Srl have jointly signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). The project also includes a feasibility study to convert the “Ferrovia dei Due Mare” railway line to green hydrogen, which crosses the country and connects the airports of Fiumincino/Rome on the Mediterranean via Rieti, Amatrice and Ascoli Piceno with San Benedetto del Tronto on the Adriatic.
Upswing for the Apennines
The initiatives are part of a project to reactivate the Apennines, a low mountain range that runs through Italy from north to south. There were earthquakes there in 2009, 2016 and 2017, some of which were severe, and there was a decline in population and economic slumps, which were exacerbated by the pandemic. “It is an opportunity to put our skills at the service of this ambitious project that, in addition to having a major impact on the environment, is intended to have a significant economic and social impact by supporting areas affected by seismic activity in recent years events,” said Lorenzo Costantini, Iberdrola Country Manager in Italy.
The Sansepolcro/Sulmona hydrogen railway project has already gone through several phases: in 2019 it was submitted to the Italian Ministry of Economic Development (MiSE). After a preliminary feasibility study, interministerial working groups were set up and the coordination process with local communities was initiated in December 2020. In July 2021, the European Commission included the project in the pre-selection for funding in the European recovery plan (“Next Generation EU”).
During implementation, the project promoters will continue to hold discussions with the regions on the railway route, with the Grupo Ferrovie dello Stato and with other public and private local actors, and will involve them in the development and implementation of the project.
Incidentally, these would not be the first hydrogen trains in Italy. In November, train manufacturer Alstom announced that it would supply six hydrogen-powered trains to the transport company FNM SpA (Ferrovie Nord Milano) deliver. The customer in the northern Italian region of Lombardy has also secured the option for a further eight trains.
Initiatives in Europe, Brazil and the USA
Iberdrola runs green hydrogen initiatives and projects in Europe – including Spain, the United Kingdom and now Italy – as well as in the United States and Brazil. In Spain alone, the company says it has submitted 53 projects for EU funding - which are now among the 150 initiatives being developed under this program - mobilizing investments of 2,5 billion to achieve an annual production of To achieve 60.000 tons of hydrogen.
Photos
Hydrogen-powered trains are to connect stations in the Apennines and two coasts in Italy. © Iberdrola
