“The Hydrogen Train Fiasco in Germany: Challenges and Controversies”

2023-05-18 18:02:45

by Charly Pohu
published on Thursday, May 18, 2023 To 20:02 •
5 min read

Announced with great fanfare when they were ordered to replace polluting diesel machines in the Frankfurt region of Germany, hydrogen trains are today above all a source of problems for the local public transport company. Driver resignations, substitute diesel buses and locomotives, delivery delays: nothing is going right.

Why is this important?

Can hydrogen be a good fuel? The question is debated. According to its defenders, H2 does not emit greenhouse gases (when used in a combustion cell in a vehicle) and would thus be an option to replace the thermal engines of trains, buses or even ocean liners. According to its opponents, its production can be polluting and it would be an absurdity if it is produced in a clean way: you might as well use renewable energy directly to charge the batteries of electric vehicles, they claim.

Facts : numerous complications on the railway network in the Frankfurt region.

• At the beginning of this year, the trains regularly had to be replaced by substitute buses and this for periods of more than two weeks, each time. It’s about fueling problems, reports Wattisduurzama site specializing in new energies.
• A situation that leads the public transport company, Start, to rent locoms

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