Fuel Cell Electric Train Concept – Zero Emission Rail Transport Solution for India

Indian cities are among the most polluted in the world. The transportation sector is one of the major source of gaseous pollutants. In recent years, also the effects of climate change and global warming have been felt across the globe. India has therefore committed at the CoP26 summit to reduce its CO2 emissions 45% by 2030. The Indian automotive sector is already addressing the problem with implementation of stricter BS VI, CAFÉ & Stage V standards and pursuing rapid electrification with application of zero emission vehicles. India also has the largest rail network of Asia, and a significant proportion of greenhouse gases also comes from this sector. Deployment of zero emission fuel cell trains would be one of the solutions to meet India's emission reduction targets. Indian Railways has already started its journey towards zero emissions and has set a target to launch hydrogen fuel cell trains on some routes by 2023 as part of the "Hydrogen for Heritage" initiative. In this study, the application of fuel cell technology on Indian railways is evaluated. For this purpose, an assessment of fuel cell technology trains in use worldwide is carried out. The sizing of major powertrain components like fuel cell system, HV battery pack, hydrogen storage system for a fuel cell train was performed for a route selected in India, which includes plain and mountain operations. A retrofit approach was also developed, which included a packaging study of the major powertrain components in the engine and passenger coaches of an existing train. An assessment of the overall energy efficiency of the train was also performed and compared to the baseline diesel train. System simulations were performed using validated simulation models in GT Suite software, and a system weight and cost assessment was performed for the new fuel cell train.