PROJECTS
The Coradia iLint hydrogen train in operation. Image source: © R. Frempe
Hydrogen train Coradia iLint
News: Hydrogen train Coradia iLint starts passenger service! (24.08.2022)
In Bremervörde, the first hydrogen trains from Alstom entered regular passenger service on August 24, 2022. As a result, five hydrogen-powered regional trains are now running on a 126-kilometer route between Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervörde and Buxtehude.
The operator of the route network, Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft Niedersachsen mbH (LNVG), has ordered a total of 14 hydrogen trains from the manufacturer Alstom - the remaining nine trains are scheduled to enter service by the end of the year. This will replace a total of 15 diesel trains previously used on the route.
The Coradia iLint was developed specifically for use on non-electrified lines - to replace the locomotives on these lines, which are often powered by diesel. Currently, about 61 per cent of the lines in the German rail network are electrified. On the remaining 39 percent, diesel locomotives are often used - with correspondingly highCO2 emissions. However, in 2016 Alstom was the first manufacturer of rail vehicles worldwide to present a passenger train powered by hydrogen, the Corodia iLint.
In 2018, the train finally entered passenger service for the first time, covering more than 180,000 km by February 2020. The Coradia iLint features clean energy conversion, flexible energy storage in batteries and smart management of available energy and potential motive power - making the train predestined for use on non-electrified lines. From 2022, 14 trains are to be used in the Weser-Elbe network.
The previous research work by Alstom and the DLR Institute FK was carried out as part of the BetHy - Fuel Cell Powered Hybrid Multiple Unit project funded by the BMVI. Here you can find more information.
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Alstom is a manufacturer of rail vehicles and systems and employs around 2,500 people at its six sites in Germany.
Logo: © Alstom S.A.
DLR FK researches, develops and evaluates new vehicle concepts and technologies against the background of future demands on the transport system.
Logo: © DLR Institute of Vehicle Concepts