Indian Railways has begun work towards developing “cost-efficient” hydrogen–fuel cell trains, with indigenous technology. Initial development show the technology to be some 12 times costlier than regular diesel locomotives. However work is being carried out to develop prototypes that are “less costly” but equally efficient, officials aware told businessline.

An official said the technology development is being done in-house. Typically, a key component of the hydrogen propulsion system is the fuel cell. This device converts chemical energy into hydrogen to generate electricity, which serves as fuel to run the train.

One plan being discussed is retrofitting hydrogen fuel cells on diesel electrical multiple units (DEMUs), while another plan is to develop a new set of locomotives.

Development cost

“Initial studies show that the cost of development of one hydrogen-fuel-cell enabled locomotive could be higher by 12 times when benchmarked to a diesel or electric locomotive. So, some rework is being carried out to see that costs are brought down. Design changes are under-way too,” an official said.

“The technology and design will be completely India-made,” he added. Indian Railways is expected to complete the electrification of tracks by FY25 and a move towards hydrogen-powered trains, on select routes, is seen as the logical next step.

While the train prototypes will most likely be developed at Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, the actual manufacture could be done through domestic and international partnerships. A hydrogen-fuelled-cell train is more environment-friendly with lower footprints, practically zero emission, that traditional engines.

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Incidentally, Alstom’s Coradia iLint was amongst the first to operate hydrails, transporting passengers in North America. It carried more than 10,000 passengers in a demonstration project in Quebec from mid-June to the end-of-September 2023 on the Réseau Charlevoix rail network along the Saint-Lawrence River.

Alstom also partnered with Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) to operate and provide demonstrations for the first passenger hydrogen-powered train in Riyadh. Germany already has retro-fitted hydrails; and China is already testing its own version of such rolling stock.

California and Italy are also working on hydrails projects including coversion of existing diesel ones to hydrogen-run locos.

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