GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn and ‘green hydrogen’ production company Lhyfe have signed an agreement to build and operate an electrolyser in Tübingen to support the trial operation of a fuel cell-powered regional train.
DB is working with Siemens Mobility on the H2goesRail research project to develop a complete hydrogen system including rolling stock, hydrogen production facilities, a refuelling point and maintenance infrastructure which would potentially enable the replacement of diesel multiple-units on regional services. Trial operation of a Mireo Plus H trainset with a fuel cell drive and lithium-ion battery on the Pforzheim – Horb – Tübingen route is planned for 2024.
The project is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport & Digital Infrastructure through the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Technology, with support from the Land of Baden-Württemberg.
Lhyfe has selected the Green Hydrogen Systems electrolyser, with an annual production capacity of around 30 tonnes. This will be powered exclusively by electricity from renewable wind, solar and hydropower, and will offer a short supply chains without road transport.
Lhyfe was founded in Nantes in 2017 to use renewable energy to produce hydrogen for transport and industry. It raised €70m of funding in 2019-21, inaugurated its first production site in Vendée during September, and is active in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain.
‘We are very proud to announce this first project in Germany, with a major partner which has very strong ambitions in terms of innovation and decarbonisation’, said Lhyfe President Mathieu Guesné on December 8. ‘This is proof that solutions exist. It is urgent that all the major transport players take steps to decarbonise their sectors.’
