The world's first hydrogen-powered (氢动力的) trains have begun running in Germany. They began carrying passengers on Monday in Germany's northern Lower Saxony state. The new trains will run 100-kilometre trips and can travel up to 140 kilometers per hour.
A French railroad company called Alstom built the two trains. Teams in Germany and France worked together on the project, which was supported by the German government. The new train model, called the Coradia iLint, signals the beginning of efforts in Germany and other nations to move away from pollution-producing diesel (柴油) trains.
The Coradia iLint is designed to run on non-electrified train lines with low levels of noise. It uses a process that combines hydrogen with oxygen to produce electrical power. If the system produces more energy than the train needs at that time, it can store the extra energy in batteries. The only emissions (排放物) are water and steam.
Hydrogen-powered trains cost more than diesel trains to build. But Alstom officials say the operating costs are much lower. The company plans to provide another 14 Coradia iLint trains to Lower Saxony by 2021.
The head of railroad operations in the area, Carmen Schwabl, praised replacing diesel trains with hydrogen-powered trains. She said the move was an important first step in using clean-burning technologies to reach climate protection goals.
Alstom says several other European countries have also expressed interest in developing hydrogen train systems. France have already said it wants its first hydrogen train to be on the rails by 2022.
