photo: hydrogenfuelnews/A hydrogen train project on the Apennines line is underway
The agreement signed by the group of companies covers four sustainable projects for the revitalization of the region.
Consulting company Aecom, Iberdrola, green hydrogen company Cinque International and sustainability specialist Ancitel Energia & Ambiente are working on a study to replace diesel propulsion with hydrogen on the Apennines line in central Italy.
A hydrogen train project on the Apennines line is underway
Aecom, Iberdrola, Cinque International and Ancitel Energía & Ambiente have signed an agreement that includes four projects to support the economic recovery of the Italian region, which was severely hit by the 2009 and 2016 earthquakes and suffered for decades from population decline.
The first project involves the reconstruction of the 300 km Apennine Line, which runs from Sansepolcro in the northern province of Arezzo to Sulmona in the central province of L'Aquila, to make it one of the first with hydrogen trains in the country.
It is a strategic line because it connects the various parts of the interior through the four central districts. Part of the line is not electrified, diesel trains are currently in use and will be replaced as part of the program.
In addition, the agreement includes a preliminary feasibility study for a new green hydrogen railway line that will link Rome with Ascoli Piceno, a province in the Marche region. The third project will assess the potential for clean hydrogen production activities in the region using new energy and environmental technologies in earthquake recovery.
All four projects are in line with the goals of the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, a group led by the European Commission that was shortlisted for the Apennines project last July and aims to ambitiously roll out hydrogen technologies by 2030 to support the European Union's commitment to carbon emissions. neutrality by 2050.