Hydrogen cell trains could be introduced in coming years

HAMBURG, Germany — While it may rank as the most desirable, high-speed train technology is not the only rail manufacturing technology Alstom may be bringing to the United States.

The global rail manufacturing company is in the process of considering partners to bring zero-carbon emission/hydrogen generated electric powered trains (hydrail) to America for the first time.

The technology for hydrogen cell trains was invented in America, when BNSF introduced the first train in 2008. However, the technology was never mass produced, getting the axe from the Obama Administration, which had a spotted history with the new technology. It instead decided to shift funds from hydrogen fuel cell research to high-performance batteries in 2009.

The new fuel source did take off in Europe, where countries embraced a drive for zero-emissions fuels. Today, trains using the technology run in 20 countries and are manufactured by eight companies worldwide. America was seemingly left in the dust. While China has two manufacturing facilities for such trains, the US still has none.

That may change soon.

For the last 13 years, a small Charlotte suburb, about half the size of Hornell, has been a driving force behind the drive to make hydrogen powered mass transit a reality in America.

The Moorsville Hydrail Initiative, Appalachin State University, and organization Co-Founder Stan Thompson had been exploring the implementation of hydrail since 2005, before the technology had even been fully developed. Since, they have birthed the International Hydrail Conference, which kicked off in Hamburg, Germany on Wednesday.

Alstom, according to Thompson, has always been a receptive prospective partner. On Friday, the company was a major presenter at the conference, offering rides on its Coradia iLint hydrogen cell train to conference goers. A total of 60 Alstom Coradia iLint trains will soon run throughout Germany.

To bring hydrail trains to America, however, will require a major investment, converting the country’s tracks to electrified ones — an investment the initiative says is worth it.

“Less than 1 percent of the roughly 300,000 miles of US railways are now electrified — or ever can be using present 1880s Russo-German catenary technology costing $6-12M per mile capital and $150,000 per mile per year maintenance."

As the world goes post-carbon, America’s plausible options are to join the global hydrail transition or stick with the extracted carbon traction fuels being phased-out everywhere else.

There are two very important exceptions: taking hydrail to High Speed Rail and line haul freight energy levels will take a lot longer.

"But today, light rail means hydrail,” Thompson said.

Over the last several years, Moorsville Hydrail Initiative has taken steps to get hydrail projects on the radar of federal officials, having guests like Sunita Styapal, Director of US Department of Energy Fuel Cell Technologies Office and Federal Railroad Administration Rolling Stock Research Manager Melissa Shurland speak at a major conference last year at Michigan State University.

The group’s outreach also resulted in a January 2018 letter penned by Rep. Ted Budd of North Carolina reaching Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao’s office. The letter asked for hydrail projects to be considered in the Trump Administration’s future infrastructure and job creation policies.

While the April 5, 2018 return letter from Federal Railroad Administration Administrator Ronald Batory made no promises, it stated that “We are willing to explore these issues with our stakeholders, including railroads interested in using hydrail.”

In response to the growing interest in hydrail trains and bringing the technology back to America, Alstom submitted the following statement.

"Alstom has taken a considerable step towards the rail systems of tomorrow as a vital player in the framework of sustainable development, continuously striving to improve the environmental-friendly aspects of its products and solutions. As such, Alstom has launched an alternative to diesel propulsion for passenger service on non-electrified networks using zero-emission trains powered by a fuel-cell and battery hybrid propulsion systems. Alstom’s Coradia iLint is a such innovation, combining clean energy conversion, flexible energy storage and smart traction power with an innovative energy management system. The Coradia iLint has a range of approximately 600 miles/1,000 km between refueling. Alstom sees considerable potential in bringing this technology to North America, particularly in the regional rail segment, and is actively pursuing opportunities to bring this innovative technology to North America with various agencies and other stakeholders."

The company gave no indication this week as to where the first target for the zero-emissions train line might be. Whether or not the trains destined for the US market may be manufactured in Hornell, also remains to be seen. The company currently manufactures the trains in conjunction with a Canadian company supplying some of the battery technology behind iLint, according to a promotional video posted to its site.

If there are any major announcement regarding bringing iLint or another zero-emissions vehicle to America, The Spectator will update this story.