Siemens Mobility presented its first Mireo Plus H hydrogen train at its Krefeld plant last Thursday.
Siemens Mobility and Deutsche Bahn (DB) have unveiled a next-generation hydrogen-powered train, the Mireo Plus H. If all goes well, the Mireo Plus H train and its new infrastructure should replace diesel multiple-unit trains in transport suburban and regional. The two partners in the project ensure a zero reduction of CO2 emissions linked to rail.
A green project
The use of hydrogen on rail is part of the German government’s H2goesRail project. Its goal is to electrify 75% of the rail network by 2030. Indeed, the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) has granted 13.74 million euros to the H2goesRail project as part of the national program innovation center for hydrogen and fuel cell technology (NOW GmbH).
Siemens has developed Mireo Plus H, a new train model. The machine only uses “green hydrogen”, a clean energy. According to the two partners Siemens Mobility and Deutsche Bahn, rapid refueling is the key to the future success of hydrogen trains. This is how, for its part, DB took charge of setting up a service station capable of supplying the train with hydrogen as quickly as a diesel train. Thus, by using green electricity taken directly from the overhead power line, DB will produce hydrogen in Tübingen. The DB maintenance depot in Ulm will be equipped accordingly to service the train.
DB and Siemens Mobility estimate that a hydrogen train traveling 200,000 kilometers per year could save more than 500 tonnes of CO2 per year. Eventually, this new train should replace diesel-powered locomotives in regional traffic.
Commissioning in 2024
Mireo will therefore have a modern hydrogen propulsion system. On the battery side, the two-car configuration of the two-car commuter train is equipped with a fuel cell and a lithium-ion battery. It will have a traction power of 1.7 MW which can provide an acceleration of up to 1.1 m/s2, and a range of around 800 kilometres. The three-car version will be able to reach up to 1,000 kilometers.
The train will enter service for passengers between Tübingen, Horb and Pforzheim in 2024, following a test phase. It should cover approximately 120,000 km during its service. Through this program, Siemens is trying to catch up with its French competitor Alstom. Moreover, the latter has already put hydrogen trains on the market.
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