Alstom and Plastic Omnium design hydrogen storage for rail
Alstom and Plastic Omnium will cooperate to develop hydrogen onboard storage solutions for the railway market. This will reportedly enable direct journeys on non-electrified lines without using fossil fuels.
Alstom (Saint-Ouen, France), a leader in sustainable railway transportation, and Plastic Omnium (Levallois-Perret, France), a player in hydrogen mobility, have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on the development of high-end hydrogen storage systems for the railway sector.
Alstom and Plastic Omnium will cooperate to develop hydrogen onboard storage solutions for the railway market. This will enable the two partners, following development projects which have already started, to launch hydrogen storage solutions on the market for regional trains in France and Italy, starting in 2022. This will reportedly enable direct journeys on non-electrified lines without using fossil fuels while meeting the challenges of sustainable development.
According to the partners, rail — as well as the truck, bus and commercial fleet sectors — is one of the first industries to develop zero-emission hydrogen mobility, opening up new growth prospects.
Christian Kopp CEO of Plastic Omnium’s Clean Energy Systems division, says, “Our partnership with Alstom aims to develop high-performance hydrogen solutions capable of tackling the sustainability challenges facing railway transportation. It is another step on the path toward carbon-free mobility.”
“The emergence of a strong hydrogen ecosystem is of critical importance for driving the development of hydrogen rail as a zero emissions alternative for regional rail,” says Thierry Best, chief commercial officer at Alstom.
Related Content
-
On the radar: Cryogenic testing of composites for future hydrogen storage
Netherlands, U.K., France, Germany and the U.S. build up test capability, look at thermoset and thermoplastic composite materials.
-
Recycling hydrogen tanks to produce automotive structural components
Voith Composites and partners develop recycling solutions for hydrogen storage tanks and manufacturing methods to produce automotive parts from the recycled materials.
-
Demonstrating composite LH2 tanks for commercial aircraft
Toray Advanced Composites and NLR discuss the Netherlands consortium and its 4-year project to build demonstrator liquid hydrogen tanks, focusing on thermoset and thermoplastic composites.