Alstom and Engie have signed a partnership agreement to offer the rail freight sector a solution for the decarbonisation of mainline operations by replacing diesel-powered locomotives with hydrogen versions.

Under the terms of this partnership agreement, Alstom, a ‘pioneer in the field of hydrogen-powered rolling stock’, is designing a hydrogen solution based on a high-power fuel cell system that can power electric locomotives on non-electrified sections. Engie, a leader in energy transition and a major player in hydrogen, is supplying the renewable hydrogen for this solution via ‘an innovative supply chain’.

This partnership says it will provide a low-carbon zero-emission solution in response to climate, environmental and public health issues, including on non-electrified branch lines and sidings, and is targeting the major European rail freight countries.

For Alstom, this partnership is in line with its strategic plan ‘Alstom in Motion 2025’, as well as its hydrogen strategy initiated in 2013 with the development of the Coradia iLint train and pursued with the acquisition of fuel-cell manufacturer Helion Hydrogen Power in 2021.

Hydrogen power
Raphaël Bernardelli, Alstom’s vice president, corporate strategy, said: “Our ambition is to accelerate the adoption of hydrogen power in the rail industry by developing innovative solutions that help to ‘green’ heavy-duty mobility operations like rail freight. In order to help drive the evolution of the hydrogen rail sector we need to gather stakeholders, and this is exactly why we have decided to partner with Engie”.

For Engie, this partnership is in line with its aim to supply heavy duty mobility markets with renewable hydrogen, thanks to its target production capacity of 4GW by 2030.

Sébastien Arbola, Engie’s executive vice president in charge of thermal generation, hydrogen and energy supply, added: “After successfully supplying the Coradia iLint during tests in the Netherlands in 2020, we are delighted to continue our efforts with Alstom in decarbonising heavy-duty mobility by combining our respective expertise to serve European rail freight.

“This partnership marks a new step in the development of decarbonated hydrogen solutions to answer to the strong demand of these growing markets.”