The Mireo Plus H train was photographed in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on May 5, 2022. According to Siemens Mobility, the train can reach a top speed of 160 kilometers per hour, or about 99 miles per hour.
Sophie Prosler | Photo Alliance | Getty Images
Siemens Mobility will build several hydrogen-powered trains for a network in Germany’s Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan area, in the latest example of how hydrogen-based technology can be used in rail transport.
In a statement on Monday, Siemens Mobility said rail operator Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn has commissioned seven of the Mireo Plus H trains. The two-carrier vehicles will use fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries, and are scheduled for delivery in the fall of 2024.
Operations on the Heidekrautbahn network are scheduled to begin in December 2024. In addition, the order includes a 10-year service and parts contract that runs until 2034.
Siemens Mobility, a company managed separately from the industrial giant SiemensThe trains, he said, will provide “completely carbon-neutral mobility” and have a top speed of 160 kilometers per hour (about 99 miles per hour).
The company previously said the Mireo Plus H has a range of between 600 and 1,000 km. “By switching from diesel to hydrogen, Heidekrautbahn will reduce its annual CO2 emissions by nearly three million kilograms and save 1.1 million liters of diesel,” the company said on Monday.
The deployment of hydrogen-powered trains on the grid is part of a joint pilot project being funded by the states of Berlin and Brandenburg as well as the federal government.
Described by the International Energy Agency as a “versatile energy carrier,” hydrogen has a variety of applications and can be used in a wide range of industries, including transportation.
According to the International Energy Agency, railways are “one of the most energy efficient modes of transportation”. The International Energy Agency says it is responsible for 9% of motorized passenger traffic worldwide and 7% of freight, but it accounts for only 3% of transportation energy use.
However, it is highly dependent on oil, which represents 55% of the sector’s total energy consumption in 2020. Under the IEA’s scenario of a zero-energy system by 2050, the use of oil in railways should decrease to “approximately “. Zero” by mid-century.
Siemens Mobility is one of several companies working on hydrogen-powered trains. Other companies include East Japan Railway Corporation and European Railroad Manufacturing Corporation Alstom. The latter has already transported passengers in Germany and Austria on hydrogen trains.
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