Filling your tank with hydrogen

Abstract

As in many countries, rail electrification in Australia is largely confined to the major cities, and elsewhere most trains are powered by diesel. Electrification is expensive and only viable on lines where traffic density is high. Having adopted the 2050 Zero CO2 emissions target, there is limited time to find alternative power sources or repower all diesels. Hydrogen is one of the most promising alternatives, and a few hydrogen-powered trains are already in service in Europe. However, hydrogen must be stored as a compressed gas or a liquid, and either way the storage volume is much greater than diesel fuel, and handling is difficult. This paper looks at the feasibility of hydrogen for locomotive-hauled freight applications, with a focus on Australia.