Green hydrogen production plant ready to support regional train trial | News

GERMANY: Green hydrogen producer Lhyfe has completed an electrolysis plant at DB Energie’s innovation center in Tübingen as part of the H2goesRail project which aims to develop a complete hydrogen system for regional trains, including production facilities fuel and a refueling point.

The plant will produce hydrogen to test a Siemens Mobility Mireo Plus H trainset powered by a fuel cell between Tübingen, Horb and Pforzheim.

It has an installed electrolysis capacity of 1 MW and an annual production capacity of up to 30 tonnes, and will use renewable electricity from DB’s wind, solar and hydro portfolio.

Lhyfe will use the factory to gain experience in running a largely autonomous system and combining production with a refueling point.

“This project demonstrates the economic viability of hydrogen in the transport and mobility sector,” Luc Graré, head of Central and Eastern Europe at Lhyfe, said on June 19. “Sustainable energy sources and innovative technologies are needed to decarbonize the transport sector.”

He said green hydrogen trains offer “a clean and efficient alternative to conventional diesel-powered trains, as they virtually produce CO”.₂-free’.

Lhyfe started operating its first green hydrogen site in France in 2021, two more French sites opened in 2023 and a 10 MW plant is under construction in Schwäbisch Gmünd. The company aims to become a major player in the hydrogen supply market for transport and industry, and has several other sites under construction.