Deutsche Bahn tests hydrogen train in effort to phase-out diesel engines

State-owned German railway company Deutsche Bahn plans to test a hydrogen-powered train in an effort to phase out diesel engines, according to a company press release. In 2024, the company will for one year test a regional train with hydrogen propulsion in the city of Tübingen in southern state Baden-Württemberg. The railway company has set itself the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050, which means a total of 1,300 diesel units will have to be replaced in the next 30 years. The new hydrogen train is to be produced by Siemens and will have a range of 600 kilometers and a maximum speed of 160 kilometers per hour. Deutsche Bahn is developing a new hydrogen filling station for the project at the DB plant in Tübingen. The train will run on green hydrogen, meaning the fuel will be be made using only renewable electricity, according to Deutsche Bahn.

Deutsche Bahn is not the first train company to adopt hydrogen trains in Germany. In 2018, French rail group Alstom put the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell train in operation in the state of Lower Saxony. Alstom also plans to provide 27 fuel cell trains to the regional public transport provider RMV in the central state of Hesse in 2022, creating the world’s largest passenger fuel cell train fleet.