FCH2Rail: Tests of Hydrogen Train in Spain Successful.

Railway Technology. FCH2Rail: Tests of Hydrogen Train in Spain Successful.

2024-03-25 From Dipl.-Ing.(FH) Richard Oed Richard Oed * | Translated by AI 3 min Reading Time

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To replace diesel multiple units on the European network, a consortium is developing a dual power train with electric and hydrogen drive as part of the FCH2Rail project. The test drives in the Madrid area are now completed.

The aim of the FCH2Rail project is the development and implementation of a dual power railcar with electric and hydrogen drive.(Image: ADIF) — The aim of the FCH2Rail project is the development and implementation of a dual power railcar with electric and hydrogen drive.
(Image: ADIF)

Richard Oed is a freelance contributor to ELEKTRONIKPRAXIS/Vogel Communications Group.

The FCH2Rail project, which has been underway since 2021 to develop a dual-power train that runs electrically on electrified routes and with hydrogen on the remaining sections, reached an important milestone in early March 2024: the completion of test runs in the Madrid area.

After initial test runs on the Spanish rail network on the demanding Zaragoza-Canfranc route in the Pyrenees in June 2023 and altitude tests in Canfranc in November 2023, the trips between Madrid and Talavera, Monfragüe and Caceres started at the beginning of 2024. These simulated a commercial use of the train. In addition, the railcar completed a long-distance journey of 804 km (approx. 500 miles) without completely consuming its hydrogen supply.

Gallery

The demonstration train at the historic Canfranc railway station. The route there is very steep and very demanding.(Image: ADIF)

The fuel cell module from Toyota Motor Europe is based on their Gen2 technology.(Image: Toyota Motor Europe)

Eight partners

The FCH2Rail project, short for Fuel Cell Hybrid PowerPack for Rail Applications, has a budget of 14 million euros (approx. 15 million USD). Ten million of that comes from the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, the European Union's joint undertaking for clean hydrogen. A total of eight companies and organizations are involved in the project. This includes the Institute for Vehicle Concepts of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), which acts as the project coordinator. The Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF assumes the role of technical leader, is responsible for the conversion of the railcar, and provides the modular onboard energy storage system (OESS). And Toyota Motor Europe (TME) contributed the Fuel Cell Hybrid PowerPack (FCHPP), the hydrogen fuel cells.

Also involved is the Spanish national railway Renfe with its business unit Renfe Operadora, ADIF as administrator of the Spanish railway infrastructure, and the Portuguese infrastructure operator Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP). The Spanish Centro Nacional de Hidrogeno (CNH2) and Stemmann-Technik from Schüttorf/Germany, which belongs to Wabtec, are also part of the project.

The use of diesel vehicles is to be reduced.

The reason for founding the project is the fact that only about half of all railway lines in the European Union are electrified. On the remaining routes, traffic is handled by diesel-powered vehicles. A possible technical solution would be the use of battery-electric trains, however, their range in battery operation is only between 30 and 100 km (approx. 19 to 62 miles). The aim of the project is to develop a dual-power train that runs purely electrically on electrified lines and otherwise with hydrogen.

For the construction of the demonstrator, Renfe provided a three-section local electric train of the 463 series with a gauge of 1668 mm. In this, CAF installed the new system of hydrogen fuel cells and batteries and integrated it into the existing traction system.

Adapted fuel cell modules

Toyota Motor Europe built, tested and delivered six fuel cell modules based on their new Gen2 technology. Three modules initially went to CNH2, which subjected them along with the batteries to a bench test as a complete system. CAF received the other three modules directly. A flat configuration of the fuel cells was used to enable the best possible integration into the roof of the test train.

After the successful completion of the trials in the Madrid area, further test and demonstration runs are scheduled to take place in Galicia and Portugal over the coming weeks. (se)

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