Hydrogen strategy for Canada’s railways

Canada wants to bring back steam to its railways, but don’t expect the return of glorious white plumes of condensation, drifting over deep-frozen prairies. This time, the steam would be the invisible exhaust of high-efficiency locomotives and self-propelled passenger units, powered by the on-board conversion of hydrogen into electricity and hot water vapor. Canada hopes to build upon its advantage as builder of the world’s first HFC (hydrogen fuel cell) prime-mover.

The Hydrogen Strategy for Canada, released on 16 December last by the Canadian government, is driven in equal measure by the country’s commitment to decarbonize, and the imperative of a massive economic recovery from the consequences of Cv-19. Without that political pincer squeeze, hydrogen could have lingered for years more as the obvious, but too costly, alternative to fossil fuels.

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Alstom’s Coradia iLint utilizes HFC (hydrogen fuel cell) technology from Canadian supplier Hydrogenics Corp., an Ontario company purchased by U.S. diesel engine manufacturer Cummins.