photo: Iberdrola presss materials/Emission-free alternative in Spain. The alliance CAF and Iberdrola for the green hydrogen train was formed
Electricity company Iberdrola and the CAF group have formed an alliance to promote the use of green hydrogen in the railway sector and in passenger transport. The agreement was formed by Iosu Ibarbia, CAF's Director of Technology, and Millán García-Tola, the electricity company's Director of Green Hydrogen.
This alliance stems from the conviction of both companies to offer comprehensive sustainable mobility solutions, ranging from the supply of rolling stock and refueling infrastructure to green hydrogen production plants and renewable energy infrastructures.
Currently, there are railway lines with sections that are difficult to electrify, where trains powered by fossil fuels are used. The aim of this alliance is to promote comprehensive solutions to replace these trains without the need to install a catenary or make major modifications.
The objective is also to develop the renewable hydrogen value chain with the highest standards of safety, technology, and competitiveness in environments such as the railway sector and passenger transport, helping to drive local companies to develop the technology and production capacity to drive the transformation of the sector in Spain and compete in the international market.
In April this year, tests are scheduled to begin on the new train developed by CAF at its Zaragoza plant as part of the FCH2RAIL project, which will be powered by green hydrogen supplied by Iberdrola from the latter's plant in Barcelona.
This project, led by CAF, is already at an advanced stage in the design and manufacture of a hydrogen train prototype which, based on a RENFE Civia series commuter train, will install a new electricity generation system in this unit based on the hybridization of energy from hydrogen cells and batteries, integrating into the turn with the vehicle's existing traction system, and thus constituting one of the first railway demonstrators of a two-mode vehicle with a hydrogen cell.
Iberdrola, a leader in the development of green hydrogen, already has two operational production plants in Spain. The supply of green hydrogen for this demonstration project will come from Iberdrola's new plant in Barcelona, which came into operation at the beginning of 2022.
Source: Iberdrola presss releases