Hydrogen not a substitute for electrification - IMechE
Investment in hydrogen trains is vital to improve air quality but must not be seen as an “easy replacement” for electrification schemes, says The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).
In The Future for Hydrogen Trains in the UK, published on February 7, the organisation says the Government must rethink its cancellation of electrification programmes and move forward with a more innovative and “long-term, rolling programme” approach.
However, it also urges the rail industry to encourage the development and deployment of hydrogen trains and their fuelling and servicing facilities, and that the technology is developed in industrial areas where hydrogen production already occurs and can support the wider transport system (such as hydrogen-powered buses).
The report also questions whether the production of hydrogen means it is truly environmentally friendly, with just 4% of the global total produced by electrolysis.
Its findings suggest that the overall efficiency of a hydrogen train is around a third of that of an electric train (similar to diesel traction), and so on intensively used railways it might be better to electrify them.
Another finding is that because of the lower energy density of hydrogen compared with diesel fuel, a hydrogen train would require eight times the fuel storage capacity of a diesel train.
It recommends that fuel cellpowered trains using hydrogen should be used on routes where electrification is ‘sub-optimal’, such as low-density rural routes.
IMechE Head of Engineering Dr Jenifer Baxter said: “The Government has set out plans to phase out the use of diesel-only trains by 2040 in order to reduce carbon emissions, but less than 50% of the network is electrified and the remaining half is unlikely to ever completely become so, particularly given the cancellation of three schemes in the North, the Midlands and Wales.
“Creating hydrogen clusters, a collection of businesses associated with the hydrogen industry, around where hydrogen is produced could help local transport systems in the UK’s regions to decarbonise. Trains and buses which operate near industries where hydrogen is produced could use hydrogen as a fuel, as production, storage and refuelling would be nearby, thereby reducing fuel distribution and transport costs.”