BUSINESS MOTORING
2022. Train manufacturer Alstom and rolling-stock operator Eversholt Rail have unveiled their design for a fuel-cell train for the British market. Based on the dependable BR Class 321 electric train, this new model – nicknamed Breeze – will bring zero- emission travel to many parts of the network that still run diesel units. “The railways need to decarbonise and the government has rightly set a goal of eliminating diesel rolling stock by 2040,” says Nick Crossfi eld, Alstom’s managing director in the UK and Ireland. “Hydrogen trains offer an ideal solution for routes that are unlikely to benefi t from electrifi cation. Our engineering solution means that they can quickly be ready to roll.”
The aviation sector could also
benefi t in future. Hydrogen-powered drones and light aircraft have been shown to have a longer range than their battery-powered equivalents.
10. WILL WE ALL BE DRIVING HYDROGEN-POWERED CARS TO WORK IN FUTURE?
‘WE HAVE THE RESOURCES TO START INTRODUCING HYDROGEN TO OUR TRANSPORT AND ENERGY SYSTEMS’
Another issue is the fact that hydrogen power is not quite as green as it might appear. Although it is possible to produce hydrogen cleanly using wind-powered electrolysis, for instance, the vast majority of commercially manufactured hydrogen is still derived from fossil fuels. The most common method is the “steam reforming” of natural gas, which accounts for about 90 per cent of production volume in North America. This process uses a lot of energy to generate the high pressures and temperatures necessary for the chemical reaction – which emits carbon dioxide as a major by-product. The International Energy Agency published a report called The Future of
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director.co.uk
Hydrogen: Seizing today’s opportunities for the G20’s 2019 summit in Osaka. This noted that the production of hydrogen worldwide is “responsible for annual CO2 emissions equivalent to those of Indonesia and the UK combined. Harnessing this existing scale on the way to a clean energy future requires both the capture of CO2 from hydrogen production from fossil fuels and greater supplies of hydrogen from clean electricity.”
9. WHAT OTHER TRANSPORT COULD FUEL-CELL
TECH REVOLUTIONISE?
Parts of the UK rail network could see hydrogen-powered services as soon as
The UK is committed to reaching “net zero” greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050. Many experts believe that FCVs will need to play an integral role in achieving that goal.
Curnick argues that, if we are “serious about reducing our net carbon emissions to zero by 2050, hydrogen-fuelled vehicles will have to be in mainstream use by then, alongside battery-powered vehicles”. He continues: “Exactly what route we’ll take to that point remains to be seen. The UK could choose to let other nations lead the way, deferring the economic benefi ts that a transition to hydrogen would bring – and losing opportunities throughout that potential supply chain. We would then need to make a costly, last-minute effort to catch up in the 2040s. Alternatively, we could take the lead. We have the resources to start introducing hydrogen to our transport and energy systems. All it would need is the political will and a relatively modest infrastructure investment to set things in motion.”
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