They actually might in certain cases, using off-peak power at peak times.

The province of Ontario, Canada, is looking at introducing hydrogen-powered commuter trains as part of its commitment to get off diesel and go electric. Does this make sense?

For a very long time, I have been skeptical of hydrogen as a fuel, because it isn't a fuel so much as it is a form of battery. Right now, most hydrogen is reformed from natural gas, so it is a fossil fuel. The fans of hydrogen are pushing electrolysis, which uses a lot of electricity, so it was often promoted by the nuclear industry as a justification for building more reactors. It would then be turned back into electricity in fuel cells and drive electric motors, which is what batteries do. But hydrogen is a tiny molecule that is hard to keep bottled, and the whole process seems less and less efficient or straightforward when batteries keep getting better and cheaper.

But this proposal to run hydrogen trains is actually interesting. Firstly, because they are not pretending that it is a fuel, but are actually calling it a form of battery or "energy carrier." From the province's discussion paper:

Why is hydrogen considered a form of electrification?

Electricity is used to split water into hydrogen fuel which is then pumped into the vehicle’s tank. The hydrogen is then used to generate electricity on the vehicles using fuel cells. Finally that electricity is used to drive electric traction motors to move the vehicle. There is no combustion in this process. Hydrogen acts an ‘energy carrier’ between electricity generated using renewable technologies and electricity driving electric motors.



© Supply of electrical and hydro power is pretty constant....

Also, the province of Ontario has a lot of hydro-electric power and a few nuclear reactors that run all night, making more power than the province actually can use. Sometimes they even pay American companies to take it off their hands. Ben Spurr of the Toronto Star notes:

© ...demand for power is pretty low in the middle of the night