Siemens Energy and Siemens Mobility sign MoU for development of hydrogen train systems

Credit: Siemens Mobility

Siemens Energy and Siemens Mobility have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop and offer hydrogen systems for trains. The agreement was signed by Albrecht Neumann, CEO of Rolling Stock at Siemens Mobility, and Armin Schnettler, Executive Vice President of New Energy Business at Siemens Energy.

The project aims at jointly developing holistic hydrogen solutions for rail transport and offering them to customers to promote the hydrogen economy in Germany and Europe and support decarbonisation in the mobility sector.

Since its public listing on 28 September 2020, Siemens Energy is no longer part of the Siemens Group. Siemens AG is the largest shareholder of Siemens Energy AG. Siemens Mobility GmbH, which belongs to Siemens AG, and Siemens Energy AG have signed a research cooperation agreement to continue and further expand their joint efforts in the promotion of hydrogen mobility.

Executive Vice President of New Energy Business at Siemens Energy, Armin Schnettler, said: “The decarbonisation of energy systems is a central goal of Siemens Energy. So-called sector coupling plays a key role here – interconnecting previously separate energy-relevant sectors, such as electricity and heat generation or mobility. This can be achieved – completely CO₂-free – with the electrolysis of water using electricity produced from renewable energy sources. Working together with Siemens Mobility, we want to drive sector coupling by developing, among other things, an electrolysis and fuelling solution for the fast fuelling of hydrogen-powered trains.”

Albrecht Neumann, CEO of Rolling Stock at Siemens Mobility, said: “Our cooperation with Siemens Energy paves the way for sustainable and climate-friendly mobility. This way, we can support our customers in replacing their diesel-powered trains operating on non-electrified rail lines with emission-free hydrogen-powered trains over the longer term. Together with Siemens Energy, we can even offer hydrogen as a ‘hydrogen as a service’ model for a train’s service life.”

Over the next 20 years, thousands of diesel-electric multiple-unit trains are to be successively replaced by more environmentally friendly alternatives in Europe. Diesel-powered trainsets are still in service today on non-electrified rail routes. In Germany, for example, these routes account for around 50 per cent of the country’s entire rail network. Environmentally friendly battery and hydrogen drives are to be used as a replacement for the diesel units.

Siemens Energy and Siemens Mobility plan to jointly develop a standardised hydrogen infrastructure solution for fuelling the hydrogen-powered trains of Siemens Mobility and later expand the solution in pilot projects and specific customer projects.

Siemens Energy markets the systems and solutions needed for the generation and provision of green hydrogen, while Siemens Mobility focuses on rail transport solutions, including the required train maintenance and depot equipment. Working together, Siemens Energy and Siemens Mobility can offer rail customers a complete solution. This will not only support customer acceptance of hydrogen power in the transport market, but also promote the establishment of a sustainable hydrogen economy in Germany.