ESSEN: Germany's state-owned rail company, Deutsche Bahn (DB), conducted an initial official trial run of a hydrogen-powered locomotive at Wegberg in the west of the country on Friday.
The Mireo plus, which has been developed by engineering giant Siemens, has a range of 800 kilometres in the model tested, and produces no harmful emissions. The locomotive emits only water vapour, according to DB and Siemens.
Further trials without passengers are scheduled from the autumn of 2023, and the first operational train is to run for a year on the regional route between Tübingen, Horb and Pforzheim in the state of Baden-Württemberg, replacing a diesel-powered train.
DB operates around 3,000 diesel-powered units, which are being converted to biofuels with the aim of attaining carbon-neutrality by 2040. The company aims to switch to hydrogen or battery technology when acquiring new locomotives.
The Mireo plus was filled up with hydrogen from a mobile tanker after the trial run at the Siemens testing centre in Wegberg. "This takes no longer than filling a diesel-powered train," DB said, adding that this was an important factor in normal service if the technology was to compete with diesel power.
The hydrogen is to be produced by electrolysis using green electricity at DB's Tübingen yard from the autumn of 2023. -- dpa
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