Hydrogen as a fuel in rail passenger transport
The Coradia iLint – the world’s first train to be operated with a hydrogen fuel cell, which generates electrical energy for propulsion– is the recipient of the European Railway Award. The project from manufacturer, Alstom, was commissioned by Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft Niedersachsen (LNVG) and coordinated by NOW GmbH under the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP). Specifically developed for use on non-electrified routes, the Coradia iLint facilitates clean, sustainable train operation.
From September 2018 to the end of February 2020, two Coradia iLint trains covered a distance of more than 180,000 kilometres in regular passenger service. The trains are completely emission-free, quiet and emit only steam and condensation. They are characterized by numerous innovations: clean energy conversion, flexible energy storage in batteries as well as intelligent management of drive power and available energy.
The Coradia iLint has already gone into series production. The first hydrogen-operated series trains will be deployed in Germany from 2022.