Germany inaugurated the world's first railway line running entirely on hydrogen on Wednesday.

The fleet of 14 trains supplied by Alstom now runs on a 100 km line linking several towns in Lower Saxony.

“We are very proud to be able to bring this technology to commercial use, as part of a world first,” said Henri Poupart-Lafarge, CEO of French Alstom, on Wednesday.

Designed in Tarbes and assembled in Salzgitter (central Germany), the hydrogen trains called Coradia iLint are pioneers in the field.

🌱💦🚆A new historic step for our Alstom Coradia iLint, the world's first #hydrogen train, which enters commercial service today on the route between Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervörde and Buxtehude, in #Germany.



Learn more: https://t.co/8DNEOxF9hg pic.twitter.com/lb8RsqR7O0

— Alstom France (@AlstomFrance) August 24, 2022

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A sector of the future

Hydrogen is the preferred way to reduce CO2 emissions and replace diesel, which still powers 20% of rail journeys in Germany.

The new fleet, which cost "93 million euros", will avoid generating "4,400 tonnes of CO2 each year", according to the LNVG, the regional operator of the network.

Commercial trials have been carried out since 2018 on this line with the regular circulation of two hydrogen trains.

Other connections will follow: Alstom has signed four contracts for several dozen trains in Germany, France and Italy, and does not see demand weakening.

“By 2035, around 15 to 20% of the regional European market could run on hydrogen”, confirms Alexandre Charpentier, rail expert at Roland Berger.

Hydrogen trains are particularly relevant for small regional lines, where the cost of a transition to electric is too high compared to the profitability of the link.

Green hydrogen still too rare

Alstom's competitors have also entered the race.

The German Siemens unveiled a prototype train in May with Deutsche Bahn for entry into service as early as 2024. But the sector is facing obstacles.

Trains are not the only ones thirsty for hydrogen: the entire transport sector, road or air, and heavy industry (steel, chemicals) rely on this technology to reduce their CO2 emissions.

Germany has announced an ambitious 2020 seven billion euro plan to become a leader in hydrogen technologies within a decade.

But infrastructure is still lacking in the country as in all of Europe.

Moreover, hydrogen is not necessarily carbon-free: only “green hydrogen”, produced with renewable energies, is considered sustainable.

Other (more common) manufacturing methods exist but they emit greenhouse gases because they use fossil fuels.

According to the French institute IFP, hydrogen is currently "95% derived from the transformation of fossil fuels, almost half of which from natural gas".

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