The Bavarian State Ministers for Economic Affairs and for Transport announced their support for Siemens Mobility’s hydrogen-powered train test in Bavaria. In this context, the Minister for Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger, Minister for Transport Kerstin Schreyer, and top representatives of Siemens Mobility and Bayerische Regiobahn (BRB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on July 12.
The two-car train is to be tested on the Augsburg – Füssen route, among others, beginning in mid-2023 and the pilot operation on the rail network of Bayerische Regiobahn (BRB) is initially planned for 30 months.
The hydrogen-powered train will be stationed in Augsburg during this time.
“The Free State of Bavaria sets itself ambitious climate targets and wants to implement a clear climate protection strategy in the transport sector. Innovative technologies and green hydrogen play a special role in this. In addition to the direct use of electricity, hydrogen has the potential to be used in a wide range of flexible applications, so that the rail transport sector can also be completely converted to renewable energies in the future,” Kerstin Schreyer, Bavarian State Minister for Housing, Building and Transport said.
The hydrogen-powered train is being developed on the basis of the Mireo Plus H platform from Siemens Mobility. It is designed to operate on non-electrified rail lines and has a range of up to 800 km.
The main components of the hydrogen traction drive are two fuel cells mounted on the roof. The system uses the latest generation of batteries from the Saft company that are installed beneath the floor.
The train will be presented to the public in the spring of 2022. The first test runs in Bavaria are planned for 2023, before the train officially enters passenger service in January 2024.
“The train is another important component in Bavaria’s hydrogen strategy. My ministry is promoting research, development and applications in the field of hydrogen technology. We’re organizing this rail project together with our partners because we’re convinced that hydrogen technology will make a significant contribution to decarbonizing transport,” the Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger said.
In November, Siemens Mobility and Deutsche Bahn announced their plan to develop and test a hydrogen train on the railway network of Tübingen, in the State of Baden-Württemberg.
At national level, Germany is committed to become a climate neutral country and this also includes the mobility sector which will be transformed by the hydrogen technology. Recently, Andreas Scheuer, the Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure said that Germany will become a hydrogen country, when announced the first result of the competition for the location of the Technology and Innovation Centre.
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