On 24 August, Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft Niedersachsen (LNVG) launched the world’s first network of hydrogen-powered passenger trains in Bremervörde in the German state of Lower Saxony. Fourteen Coradia iLint trains produced by the French manufacturer Alstom will be used on the track between Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervörde and Buxtehude. They will be refueled overnight at a new hydrogen filling station in Bremervörde. LNVG is working on the project with the German gas specialist Linde.
Investment in the project amounted to 93 million euros, according to a statement. The state of Lower Saxony provided 85 million euros for the train purchase costs, in which 8.4 million euros was invested by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport. The Ministry also invested 4.3 million euros in the filling station. The hydrogen replaces 1.6 million litres of diesel per year, which corresponds to CO2 emissions of 4,400 tons.
Lower Saxony's Economics Minister, Bernd Althusmann, hopes the project will extend beyond Germany. In the statement he said: "The innovative state of Lower Saxony has impressively demonstrated that alternative technologies can offer a reliable level of performance on the tracks - and without any emissions at all”.
