Hydrogen trains get their benchmarks
A train running on hydrogen.
In the race to meet net zero, trains are often hailed as the least polluting way to travel. When powered by electricity from a rail or overhead lines, they produce no direct greenhouse-gas emissions, while hydrogen is now emerging as another low-impact option.
Whether in Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy or in China and Japan, hydrogen trains are either already a form of existing transport or will be in the very near future.
New standard for fuel-cell powered trains
Combined with oxygen in a fuel cell, hydrogen produces electricity, which then is used to motion trains, a bit like a battery. Trains powered by fuel cells release water vapour instead of any polluting emission.
A new international standard, IEC 63341-1, applies to fuel cell power systems installed onboard rolling stock for railway applications (e.g. light rail vehicles, tramways, streetcars, metros, commuter trains, regional trains, high speed trains and locomotives).
"IEC 63341-1 describes the design requirements to ensure that the fuel cell system complies with railway applications. Other sections of this standard address the safety, reliability and protection requirements needed for designing and installing the fuel cell system, as well as the validation process for these requirements," explains Julien D'Arbigny who led the team working on the standard.
Clean hydrogen and clean electricity
Like for electricity which powers trains through electric lines, some ways of sourcing hydrogen are cleaner than others. The cleanest is to use renewable sources of energy to produce the electricity which is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen in a unit called an electrolyzer.
Electrolysis remains an expensive technology, though, and more investment is required to bring prices down. The new standard will help to build additional trust in the market for hydrogen trains.
Conformity Assessment helps as well
To ensure global compliance and safety, IECEx — the IEC Conformity Assessment System which oversees hydrogen related certifications — is expanding its scope relating to testing and certification in the area of hydrogen technologies. IECEx has partnered with many other international organizations, including ISO.
It has established formal liaisons with ISO TC/197, relating to testing and certification in the area of hydrogen technologies, and more recently with IEC TC 105, for fuel cells. Both these partnerships are fostering a safe infrastructure for hydrogen use in the energy sector.
In an on-going close collaboration with IRENA as well as the Hydrogen Council, IECEx is contributing to develop a future roadmap for a quality infrastructure for clean hydrogen production.
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