Hydrogen-powered trains could run on British railways as soon as 2022, as plans to introduce fuel cell technology to the network start to gather pace.
French rail multinational Alstom and UK rolling stock operating company (ROSCO) Eversholt Rail Group have today unveiled the design for a new hydrogen fuel cell train for the UK market. Based on the tried-and-tested British Rail Class 321, the fuel cell trains – nicknamed ‘Breeze’ – will bring zero-emission hydrogen tech to parts of the UK that still run on diesel.
“Hydrogen train technology is an exciting innovation which has the potential to transform our railway, making journeys cleaner and greener by cutting CO2 emissions even further. We are working with industry to establish how hydrogen trains can play an important part in the future, delivering better services on rural and inter-urban routes,” said Andrew Jones MP, UK Rail Minister.
PowerHouse Energy (LON:PHE) has developed a proprietary process technology called DMG® which can use waste plastic end-of-life-tyres and other waste streams to convert them into cost efficient energy in the form of electricity and ultra clean hydrogen gas fuel for use in cars and commercial vehicles (FCEV: Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles) and other industrial uses. The PowerHouse technology is the world’s first proven, modular hydrogen from waste (HfW) process.