Hydrogen powered trains project: EIR release

Information requested

1. There was a two carriage train which was Hydrogen powered, that ran in Glasgow until 2019. What was the result of the project after this was terminated after this time.

2. There was to be a train and a Bin lorry that were to be unveiled at the COP26 conference in Glasgow last year. Did this take place? taken from an article in the Scotsman newspaper in November 2021.

3. There was an internet article related to a train being powered by hydrogen by 2021, undertaken by Arcola Energy and that the train experiment would be ready in 10months. What was the result?

4. What is the current timetable of using hydrogen power on the railway system in Scotland, now that it has been nationalised by the government?

5. The Transport Minister Graeme Dey was reported in July 2021 as having met Arcola Energy hydrogen team in Boness and that they were halfway through the project. Was it ever finished? and what was the result.

6. As hydrogen as a fuel, is said to more expensive that diesel, what are the economics of this policy.

Response

I can confirm the following against each of your points:-

1. There was a two carriage train which was Hydrogen powered, that ran in Glasgow until 2019. What was the result of the project after this was terminated after this time.
I can confirm that to be best of our knowledge, no hydrogen-powered train has run in the UK beyond prototype/demonstrator stage as yet.

2. There was to be a train and a Bin lorry that were to be unveiled at the COP26 conference in Glasgow last year. Did this take place? taken from an article in the Scotsman newspaper in November 2021.
A Hydroflex train was exhibited by its owners Porterbrook Leasing, supported by its project partners at COP26. Separately, a consortium led by St Andrews University and Arcola Energy also sought to exhibit a converted demonstration train. The train conversion work largely took place at Bo’ness, alongside the installation of a hydrogen generating unit; the train was at Bo’ness during COP26.

Glasgow City Council had hoped that the hydrogen fuel cell refuse collection vehicle (HFCRCV) would be present in Glasgow during COP26. Due to various factors this was not possible however to gain some exposure, during COP26, the HFCRCV was taken to Bo’ness and exhibited beside fuel cell equipment, an hydrogen generating unit and the Scottish Hydrogen Train which is being converted to be powered by Hydrogen as a demonstration project.

3. There was an internet article related to a train being powered by hydrogen by 2021, undertaken by Arcola Energy and that the train experiment would be ready in 10 months. What was the result?
Arcola Energy is involved in a consortium project to convert a life-expired train to be hydrogen powered. The project is not yet completed. Further information can be readily found on the internet, for example Scotland’s Hydrogen Train - Rail Engineer

4. What is the current timetable of using hydrogen power on the railway system in Scotland, now that it has been nationalised by the government?
The transition from Abellio ScotRail to ScotRail Trains Ltd has not changed the planning for hydrogen use on the Scottish Railway system; hydrogen forms part of the Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan. The 2019 Programme for Governance announced by the First Minister stated “Where we cannot electrify [our rail network] or it is inappropriate to do so, we will invest in battery powered trains and work with developers of hydrogen fuel cell trains to accelerate their development and deployment through practical trials in Scotland.”

As a consequence of the PfG commitment, a five-phase project was initiated:
Phase 1 – concept design (2020)
Phase 2 – technical proofing (2021/22)
Phase 3 – operational proofing on national network(2023/4)
Phase 4 – pilot service operations (2024/5)
Phase 5 – deployment (2026/7)

5. The Transport Minister Graeme Dey was reported in July 2021 as having met Arcola Energy hydrogen team in Boness and that they were halfway through the project. Was it ever finished? and what was the result.
The project at Bo’ness is still under way; see also response to question 3 above. The project at Bo’ness is part of Phase 2.

6. As hydrogen as a fuel, is said to more expensive that diesel, what are the economics of this policy.
By way of background, hydrogen is a comparatively immature technology in the context of rail traction energy, and other sectors. The costs and economies of scale of operating using hydrogen are not yet clearly understood, nor yet benchmarked. Equally, whilst diesel is mature and well-understood, the costs of diesel operation are also subject to change, since, in addition to current fuel price rises, bans on the sale of new diesel-powered road vehicles in many countries will start impacting on the operating costs of diesels.

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