China has rolled out its first hydrogen-powered train, signaling the beginning of a future of environmentally friendly travel in the country of more than a billion people.
China is the second country to introduce green fuel alternatives after Germany launched the world’s first hydrogen train. Germany’s Coradia iLint trains, developed by French green mobility company Alstom, entered commercial service in 2018.
The Chinese hydrogen-energy train jointly developed by CRRC Changchun Railway Co and Chengdu Rail Transit recently rolled off the assembly line in Chengdu, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province.
Hydrogen-powered train: Hydrogen is a clean fuel that, when consumed in a fuel cell, produces only water. The high-tech trains combine hydrogen with oxygen to produce power. These trains emit low levels of noise and the byproducts are only steam and condensed water.
These zero-emission trains have a speed of 160 kilometers per hour and can run 500 kilometers back and forth in a day, which can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 10,000 kilograms per year, according to Chinese media reports. The train uses the same core technology as the Fuxing bullet train – a high-speed bullet train run by China Railway Corporation.
This green mobility technology is part of China’s ambitious plan to promote the development of the hydrogen-energy industry. By 2025, the country plans to have about 50,000 hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, and its annual hydrogen production from renewable energy will reach 100,000 to 200,000 tons, according to the plan jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission, and the National Energy Administration (NEA).
There are only over 1,000 hydrogen stations in the world, according to Information Trends, and about one-third of them are in China.
How do hydrogen trains work?
Hydrogen trains are equipped with fuel cells, batteries, and electric traction motors. The fuel source is hydrogen. The fuel cells produce electricity through a combination of hydrogen, which is stored in tanks, with oxygen from the outside air, to provide a stable power source for the traction motors. Water and heat are the only byproducts.
Why? Gasoline and diesel vehicle emissions, such as nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter, are a major source of greenhouse gases that contribute to the climate crisis. Hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles emit none of these harmful substances. Hydrogen has enormous potential as an eco-friendly alternative to fossil fuels. Since it only emits water when it is burned, it is a greener, quieter alternative to diesel on non-electrified railway lines.
