Hydrogen trains (HTs) have emerged as a promising solution to decarbonising rail transport globally. Innovative technology and strong environmental credentials have attracted significant attention to HTs in Australia and abroad.
However, much of Australia’s rail network covers vast distances between remote and dispersedly spread population centres – begging the question: are HTs fit for these conditions?
In this article, we explore some of the basic science behind HTs, their operational advantages for Australia’s network, the challenges HTs face in scaling up operations in Australia, and what might come next for the nascent industry.
Hydrogen Trains: What are they?
Australia is on an ambitious path to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Part of that journey will require decarbonising railway transport and replacing diesel locomotives with cleaner alternatives. HTs are fast becoming a promising solution to lift the environmental credentials of the industry. Using hydrogen as a fuel either within a combustion engine or to power a chemical reaction with oxygen in fuel cells, HTs can generate energy to power train motors.1 Advantageously, HTs generate only water and heat as by-products and do not produce carbon emissions or air pollution.2 Where feed hydrogen has been produced from clean energy sources such as wind and solar, HTs tend to have very low lifecycle emissions.3
Conversely, diesel engine trains (DETs) account for 60% of the total direct and indirect emissions from the Australian national rail carbon footprint.4 Although rail is the least emissions-intensive mode of passenger transport (according to the International Energy Agency),5 DET emissions have, among other things, detrimental health consequences for Australians. The Australian Cancer Council has noted that 1.2 million Australians are exposed to diesel engine exhaust chemicals each year, and that people operating in transport are at higher risk of exposure.6 DET chemicals increase the risk of operators developing long-term health problems, negatively impacting public health costs. These health outcomes are avoided with HTs.
So, despite their environmental and health-related benefits, why have HTs not taken off? Below, we explore some key challenges to HT implementation across Australia’s rail network, and how those challenges might be addressed.
Challenges to Implementation
Use Cases: Where Hydrogen Trains Will Work, and Where They Won’t
In the race to de-carbonise rolling stock, one of the largest producers of HTs in Germany has claimed HTs will almost always lose to battery-electric trains (BETs) in procurement tenders in Europe.7 This is because railways in central Europe are usually close to stations with overhead charging lines that can charge BETs.8 This logic might also be applied to Australia’s urban railways which are typically close to charging stations in population centres around the country. HTs may not be appropriate on these railway networks, where BETs better suit existing charging infrastructure.
However, HTs are typically capable of travelling much greater distances than BETs. HTs may therefore find success in the vast Australian rail networks that cover greater distances than urban centre networks and do not have charging infrastructure available. Further, using BETs on remote rail networks would not be economical given limitations on load capacity of existing batteries.9 Australia’s dispersed population centres and remote communities such as mining outposts require trains that can travel routes spanning hundreds, if not thousands, of kilometres. Promisingly, HTs look set to meet these demands. One HT model has, for example, been demonstrated to travel nearly 3,000km without refuelling.10 While this distance was likely due to optimised testing conditions, in 2022 another model was demonstrated to travel 1,175km without refuelling during the normal course of operation in Germany.11
Infrastructure
However, HT technology is complex and requires the support of specialised infrastructure. With specialisation comes cost, and this is particularly apparent in remote regions where infrastructure costs are typically higher than in urban regions.12 HT re-fuelling stations, for example, are more complex than typical DET stations due to technical requirements of hydrogen storage at high-pressure or in cryogenic tanks.13 This may mean that using HTs in certain applications such as remote mining, port or rail corridor locations are not immediately economical compared to DETs given the associated costs with setting up HT refuelling capabilities.14 Accordingly, proponents of HTs must also focus on reducing the costs associated with HT re-fuelling infrastructure.
Promisingly, the outlook on investment in the HT industry appears positive. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency announced on 21 December 2023 that it had shortlisted six applicants for its AUD $2 billion Hydrogen Headstart Program (Program). The Program will support large scale-renewable hydrogen production projects across multiple states in Australia,15 and is part of a broader $127B pipeline of announced hydrogen industry investment in Australia.16 The Program puts Australia on a policy and strategic trajectory towards developing key infrastructure associated with HTs such as refuelling stations and will lay a solid foundation of investment to support this nascent industry. HT proponents may be able to capitalise on this investment to scale up HT use across Australia and into remote regions. In the 2024 Federal Budget, the Federal Government allocated a further $8 billion in funding to support the production of renewable hydrogen through tax incentives and programs including the Program.
Safety
Hydrogen-related disasters, including the 1937 Hindenburg Blimp fire and the 2011 explosion at the Fukushima nuclear power plant have instilled public reluctance to accept hydrogen as a future fuel technology.17 This reluctance has fed into perceptions around the safety of HTs. In our previous article, we noted that hydrogen properties call for specific safety requirements and infrastructure to ensure hydrogen can be transported, stored and delivered safely. Hydrogen safety issues usually fit into two categories, materials-related issues (e.g., components cannot withstand the high-pressure storage), and handling-related issues (e.g., human error).18 Addressing these issues suitably will be relevant to the successful uptake of hydrogen use in rail contexts. However, with appropriate industry standards and education these concerns are likely to fade as HT innovation continues. Key to this change will be HT proponents making use of large public schemes available such as the Program to invest in certification and safety measures.
What’s Next?
The Australian Federal Government released its National Rail Procurement and Manufacturing Strategy in November 2023 (Strategy). The Strategy forms part of a National Rail Manufacturing Plan (Plan) and outlines the Government’s commitment to “simplify procurement, harmonise standards across states and territories, increase innovation, and improve skills and capabilities in the rail manufacturing sector”.19 The Government’s Strategy, Plan and Program individually and collectively indicate a policy and strategic shift towards supporting the hydrogen and railway industries with the development of innovative and decarbonising technologies. Further, these policies may pave the way for future proponents of HTs to invest in and support this nascent industry.
While some concerns must be addressed before HTs become commonplace, HTs are on track to change the rail industry in Australia. HT environmental credentials and applications for long-haul routes position HTs as attractive to governments, investors and consumers alike.
The Hamilton Locke team advises across the energy project life cycle – from project development, grid connection, financing, and construction, including the buying and selling of development and operating projects. For more information, please contact Matt Baumgurtel.
1What is a Hydrogen Train and How do They Work? (Webpage) <https://www.twi-global.com/technical-knowledge/faqs/what-is-a-hydrogen-train>.
2Daniel Ding, Xiao-Yu Wu, ‘Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Trains: Technologies, Current Status, and Future’ (2024) 17 Applications in Energy and Combustion Science, 2.
3Ibid.
4National Rail Carbon Footprint Study (June 2022) <https://www.rissb.com.au/news/national-rail-carbon-footprint-study-available/> 16.
5Oskaras Alšauskas, Rail (Webpage 11 July 2023) <https://www.iea.org/energy-system/transport/rail>.
6Diesel: What is Diesel Engine Exhaust (Webpage) <https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/workplace-cancer/diesel>.
7Rachel Parkes, ‘Hydrogen Will ‘Almost Always’ Lose Out to Battery-Electric in German Rail Transport: Train Manufacturer’, Hydrogen Insight (online, 22 August 2023) <https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/transport/hydrogen-will-almost-always-lose-out-to-battery-electric-in-german-rail-transport-train-manufacturer/2-1-1504868>.
8Ibid.
9Ibid.
10Rachel Parkes ‘World record | Hydrogen Train Travels Nearly 3,000km Without Refuelling’ Hydrogen Insight (online 26 March 2024) <https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/transport/world-record-hydrogen-train-travels-nearly-3-000km-without-refuelling/2-1-1617599>.
11Ibid.
12Ding (n 2) 1.
13Ding (n 2) 3.
14Ruth Knibbe et al., ‘Application and Limitations of Batteries and Hydrogen in Heavy Haul Rail Using Australian Case Studies’ (2022) 56 Journal of Energy Storage 4.
15Six Shortlisted for $2 Billion Hydrogen Headstart Funding (Webpage) <https://arena.gov.au/news/six-shortlisted-for-2-billion-hydrogen-headstart-funding/>.
16Growing Australia’s Hydrogen Industry (Webpage) <https://www.dcceew.gov.au/energy/hydrogen>.
17Elham Abohamzeh et al., ‘Review of Hydrogen Safety During Storage, Transmission, and Applications Processes’ (2021) 72 Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries 1.
18Ibid 1-2.
19National Rail Procurement and Manufacturing Strategy: A Part of the National Rail Manufacturing Plan (Webpage) <https://www.industry.gov.au/publications/national-rail-procurement-and-manufacturing-strategy>.
