Germany Ditches Plan To Run 'World's First' Hydrogen Train Network, Replaces With Electric

Germany deployed the world’s first-ever hydrogen-powered passenger train fleet, which includes a total of 14 trains, making it the cleanest train fleet yet.

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Back in 2022, Germany made a lot of buzz in the world of urban mobility by announcing the world's first network of hydrogen trains. The state of Lower Saxony in Germany ordered 14 hydrogen trains to be made by French company Alstom and operated by regional rail company LNVG on routes between the northern towns of Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervoerde, and Buxtehude. However, a report now states that the local transport authority has announced its plans to operate 102 battery electric trains from 2029 onwards.

Lower Saxony’s state-owned transport company LNVG (Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft Niedersachsen) has announced that it will use only battery electric trains after it determined that they were “cheaper to run” than hydrogen fuel-cell alternatives. LNVG began testing of 14 Alstom Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel-cell trains along passenger routes in Lower Saxony a year ago.

State governor Stephan Weil earlier said the 93-million-euro (USD 92 million) project was an ‘excellent example’ for Lower Saxony's efforts to make its economy greener. The Coradia iLint trains have a range of up to 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) and a maximum speed of 140 kmph (87 mph). By using hydrogen produced with renewable energy the trains will save 1.6 million litres (more than 422,000 gallons) of diesel fuel a year, said LNVG.

Following an extensive research, LNVG found that the electric trains – able to be charged using overhead pantograph lines are cheaper than hydrogen and diesel alternatives.

Interestingly, countries like India and China are also researching on launching their own versions of Hydrogen trains. While China has already introduced its first Hydrogen train, Indian Railways is expected to launch the Hydrogen train by end of 2023 or early 2024 in Haryana state.