Germany to use hydrogen trains on reactivated historic line

The German Federal Ministry of Transport has allocated €25 million to a project in Brandenburg that will use green hydrogen in rail transportation.

The project to link the surrounding area to Berlin’s metropolis cost €100 million, according to Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer on May 3.

Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn aims to use six hydrogen fuel cell trains, and the reactivation of the Heidekrautbahn’s main line would create additional synergies, according to the company.

The project’s three partners, renewable energy corporation Enertrag, Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn, and municipal infrastructure organization Kreiswerke Barnim in the Barnim and Havelland districts, are working together to develop regional hydrogen infrastructure and sustainable mobility in local rail passenger transport.

The National Hydrogen Strategy will be implemented in a compatible manner with this initiative. Fuel cell-powered trains will be running on the regional railway line RB27 by December 2024, according to Scheuer.

According to Enertrag CEO Jörg Müller, the green hydrogen will be manufactured entirely from locally generated renewable energy.

Kreiswerke Barnim will construct the facilities, which will include a hydrogen filling station.

Enertrag has 1 125 wind turbines and produces 1.68 million megawatt-hours of electricity. In the city, Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn operates 11 rail lines.

Kreiswerke Barnim aspires to make the district’s electricity supply 100 percent fossil-free in the future.

Guido Beermann, Germany’s Transport Minister, expressed his delight that the historic Heidekrautbahn main line would be reactivated, and that this project would mark the beginning of the delivery of climate-friendly hydrogen infrastructure.