The FCH2RAIL project, the first hydrogen train to be tested on the Spanish and Portuguese railway networks, has been successfully completed.
The final event of the FCH2RAIL project was held at the RailLive 2024 conference, which took place over the last two days in Zaragoza. Over the past four years, the project has developed a bimodal hydrogen fuel cell demonstration train and tested it on the Spanish and Portuguese rail networks.
The event began with a presentation of the project’s development and a detailed review of the main milestones and achievements. The Director of Global Strategy at Renfe, Paloma Baena, the Deputy Director of Strategic Innovation at Adif, José Conrado Martínez, the Director of Technology at CAF, Iosu Ibarbia, and the Director of CNH2, Emilio Nieto, discussed the results and strategic conclusions of the FCH2RAIL project in a round table.
The first hydrogen train to be tested on the Spanish and Portuguese railway networks
The prototype then made a journey, allowing guests to experience a trip on the hydrogen train between the CAF facilities in Zaragoza and the Villanueva de Gállego station. The event was attended by the director of Clean Hydrogen Partnership, Valerie Bouillon-Delporte, as well as important executives from the companies participating in the project and from other companies that have actively supported the project.
The FCH2RAIL project has lasted 4 years and had a budget of more than EUR 14 million, of which around 70% is funded by European funds. It started in January 2021, when the FCH JU (now the Clean Hydrogen Partnership), the European Commission agency for promoting the development of hydrogen and fuel cells, selected the FCH2RAIL proposal. The project partners – CAF, DLR, Renfe, Toyota Motor Europe, Adif, IP, CNH2 and Faiveley Stemmann Technik – have more than met the objective of developing a prototype hydrogen-powered train.
The so-called Fuel Cell Hybrid PowerPack (FCHPP) was developed and manufactured for an existing commuter train provided by Renfe. This innovative zero-emission power generation system uses electric energy from fuel cells and LTO batteries to power the train on non-electrified lines, and the overhead line when available. It is the first hydrogen fuel cell demonstration train on the Iberian Peninsula.
The first phase of the project, which began in 2021, consisted of developing the new power generation solution and integrating it into the vehicle’s existing traction system. To do so, the Fuel Cell Hybrid PowerPack was tested on the outside of the vehicle and the operation of the energy management system was validated and optimised. Once the demonstration train was completed, static testing began in 2022 at the CAF plant in Zaragoza, where the correct installation and integration of the new system was verified by verifying all interfaces and their correct operation, in addition to carrying out hydrogen tightness tests and the first hydrogen refuelling of the train to feed the fuel cells.
In mid-2022, dynamic testing of the unit began, initially on a closed track, which served to optimize the new system and equipment, to later begin these tests on external tracks. The aim was to optimize the hybridization of fuel cells and batteries on the routes defined as representative in the project, simulating commercial operation on all routes and thus testing the new system in a wide range of demand and power conditions.
One of the most important milestones of the project was obtaining authorisation to carry out tests on the General Interest Railway Network (RFIG) and the departure of the vehicle for the first operational test on the Zaragoza-Canfranc route, in the Aragonese Pyrenees. This is the first authorisation from Adif for the test operation of a hydrogen train on the RFIG, with all the risk analysis and safety validation processes associated with testing new technologies. The arrival of the train at Canfranc station, in the Aragonese Pyrenees, demonstrated the reliability of the technology used. The Zaragoza-Canfranc route is especially demanding due to its steep and elevated ramps, which represents a great challenge for the new on-board energy generation systems.
To test the new technology under a wide range of power and energy demand conditions, the train travelled for several months on different routes, mainly in Aragon, Madrid and Galicia. The scenarios demonstrated included operation under different climatic and operational conditions. During the train’s stay in Galicia, another important milestone of the project was reached when the train crossed the border and was tested on a Portuguese route. This allowed a more thorough characterisation of the new technology for a subsequent assessment of the competitiveness of the new hydrogen fuel cell bi-mode hybrid propulsion solution as a sustainable alternative to the diesel traction currently used.
The project has also fulfilled another fundamental objective, which consisted of participating in European railway standardisation committees, in order to promote the drafting of new standards or the updating of existing ones with the necessary conditions to accommodate hydrogen fuel cell technology in the European railway network.
In short, the success of the project confirms and reinforces the commitment of the companies that make up the FCH2RAIL consortium to the development of environmentally friendly mobility solutions. In this context, it is worth highlighting the growing interest of numerous public and private transport authorities within and outside the EU in hydrogen fuel cell technology in rail transport in recent years.
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