Indian Railways set to operate trains on H2 fuel-based tech
Under the flagship programs of the Government, 'Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Batteries' and 'National Hydrogen Mission', to cut down on the Green House Gas (GHG) emission under Paris Climate Agreement 2015 and 'Mission Net Zero Carbon Emission Railway' by 2030, Indian Railways has announced that it is set to run trains on hydrogen fuel-based technology.
"We will do retrofitting on DEMU trains which run on 89 km track between Haryana's Jind and Sonipat. A pre-bid conference for this will be held on August 17 and we hope that process will finish by October 5," ADG PRO Rajiv Jain said.
SK Saxena, CEO of Railway Energy Management Company Limited further added that hydrogen fuel is the cleanest fuel. "We will remove the diesel generator and install a hydrogen fuel cell. Input will change to hydrogen fuel from diesel. It'll be the cleanest form of fuel. If hydrogen is generated from solar it'll be called green power," he said.
In a press release, the Ministry of Railways said, "There has been recent budgetary pronouncement to kick off the concept of Hydrogen Mobility in the Country. Acknowledging it as a challenge, the Indian Railways Organization of Alternate Fuel (IROAF), the green fuel vertical of Indian Railways, has requested bids for hydrogen fuel cell-based trains on the railways' network. The project shall commence in 89 km Sonipat-Jind section of Northern Railway."
Underlining that Rs 2.3 crore will be saved each year due to the project, the ministry said, "Primarily, two DEMU rakes will be transformed and later, two-hybrid locos will be transformed based on hydrogen fuel cell power movement. There will be no change in the driving console. Also, the project will lead to saving of Rs 2.3 crore annually."
