Germany Successfully Launches World’s First Eco-Friendly Hydrogen Powered Train

Germany launches World’s First Hydrogen Powered Train, signalling the start of a push to challenge the might of polluting diesel trains with costlier but more Eco-friendly technology.

The Two bright blue Colored trains are named as Coradia iLint trains, built by French TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, in French)-maker Alstom, i.e high speed train. began running a 100-kilometre (62-mile) route between the towns and cities of Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervoerde and Buxtehude in northern Germany — a stretch normally plied by diesel trains.

How they work

• Hydrogen trains are equipped with fuel cells that produce electricity through a combination of hydrogen and oxygen, a process that leaves steam and water as the only emissions.
• Excess energy is stored in ion lithium batteries on board the train.
• The Coradia iLint trains can run for around 1,000 kilometers on a single tank of hydrogen, similar to the range of diesel trains.
• Mobile hydrogen filling stations have been installed next to the tracks at Bremervorde station, which pump hydrogen into the trains from a 40ft-high steel container. One fuel load can last for a day.

The trains are lavish  to produce than regular diesel locomotives, but company authorities believe they work out cheaper in the long run.