Welsh Government to Fund Hydrogen Study to Improve Transport: What Will it Find?

As Hydrogen becomes more of a viable option globally, Hydrogen Industry Leaders analyses how a four-month feasibility study into introducing hydrogen trains to the Transport for Wales network will play out.

The scheme aims to develop innovative solutions that will support the ten objectives set out by the Welsh Government recently. The Wales Hydrogen Pathway is incorporated into the Net Zero Wales 2021-25 carbon reduction plan. 

The main focus of the project and broader objectives of the plan is to highlight how the country can accelerate the development of technologies and processes to enable the deployment of hydrogen energy.

It is an essential process to manage successfully as, without it, the chances of meeting the 2040 target of removing diesel-only trains from the network are reduced dramatically. 

The deployment stage is make or break for hydrogen development in Wales

The deployment stage of the hydrogen strategy is one of the biggest cogs in the net zero agenda. It is funded by the Welsh Government’s Hydrogen Business Research and Innovation for Decarbonisation small business research initiative. 

Ballard Motive Solutions are working with consultants Arup to ensure a smooth integration onto the network, as they are specialists in hydrogen and fuel cell system engineering. 

The recommendations while dive deep into the findings

Once the project findings are assessed, a final report will present the recommendations for multiple aspects of Rail. These include, but are not limited to, operational, route, rolling stock, and power requirements.

Looking to Europe, there are hydrogen trains in passenger service face in Germany. The UK and Wales, more specifically, hope to put themselves on the hydrogen map by joining Germany in hydrogen-powered transport. 

Germany has been using Alstom’s Coradia iLint since 2018 and has set a framework for hydrogen developments that the rest of Europe will be looking to replicate. 

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