Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Vehicle Projects LLC are developing fuel cell trains which not only will reduce emissions but can also be used to generate backup off-grid power.
Here’s the key reasons that fuel cell trains make so much sense.
Locomotives travel predictable miles and refuel in predictable places along the miles of railway tracks. The hydrogen railway infrastructure that needs to be set up for trains is minimal compared to the hydrogen highway system.
And, replacing the emissions from diesel engine trains with zero emissions fuel cell locomotives makes environmental sense and energy independence sense.
Railroads are 19th century inventions that are making a huge comeback because of their ability to haul enormous amounts of stuff at very low cost. Fuel cell trains allow this to be done without using oil or emitting carbon. In Denmark, plans are to have fuel cell trains powered by waste hydrogen from manufacturing or hydrogen generated from wind power. Wow.
Waste hydrogen is an interesting source of energy. Anyone who has lived or worked near an oil refinery knows how much hydrogen gets burned off in “flares” every day.