Politics

Potential use of alternative fuels solutions in the rail sector

Published

3 years ago

April 1, 2022

Rail Forum Europe (RFE) the European Parliament platform dedicated to rail transport, organised the event titled "*Decarbonising rolling stock: The potential of
alternative propulsion systems in the rail sector?*’’. It featured an
introductory statement by the forum’s President MEP *Andrey Novakov* (EPP,
BG) and moderation by MEP *Jakop Dalunde* (Greens, SE). The discussion also
featured several keynote speeches by distinguished guests: *Giuseppe Izzo*,
Transport Attaché at the *Italian Permanent Representation*; *Andreas
Schwilling*, Senior Advisor at *Roland Berger*; *Raphaël Bernardelli*, VP
Corporate Strategy at *Alstom* and *Jochen Steinbauer*, Platform Director
Hydrogen trains and technologies at *Siemens*.

Extending beyond RFE’s full and associate members, participants included
Members of the European Parliament, representatives from the *European
Commission* and officials from across the 27 Member States. Attendees
joined the lively discussion with the aim of grasping the main benefits and
most suitable applications of existing alternative fuels solutions in the
European rail market.

In his introductory speech, *Andrey Novakov* welcomed the participants and
highlighted that: *''Rail transport is fully in line with the ambitious EU
climate objectives and a key element to build the mobility system of the
future, but there is still potential to further decrease its emissions. A
strong political will and immediate investments are necessary for achieving
efficient results on the decarbonisation of the rail sector.''*

Moderator *Jakop Dalunde* opened the debate by recalling that: “*It is a
missed opportunity that the Alternative fuel infrastructure report does not
adequately include rail as only 54% of the European rail network is
electrified and many thousand diesel powered trains are still in
operation. The further deployment of charging infrastructure in the rail
sector is essential to ensure a shift away from fossil fuel powered trains.
Therefore I drafted on behalf of the Greens an own Article on rail to
foster alternative solutions in the railway sector.”*

Italian Transport Attaché *Giuseppe Izzo* added that: *“Italy has decided
to allocate €300 million - out of a €29,4 billion eligible for rail-related
investments - to alternative fuels rail infrastructure projects. In
particular, for hydrogen testing on non-electrified lines and the purchase
of hydrogen trains for various segments of the national railway network”.*

During his intervention,* Andreas Schwilling* provided more technical
details by explaining that:* “A key challenge for the decarbonisation of
railways is the long lifetime of the rolling stock. Diesel trains purchased
today will not reach the end of their service life until 2050. Thus, trains
with alternative propulsion and the requisite infrastructure should be
ordered today for the parts of the network where low traffic density does
not justify electrification.*

From a market perspective, Alstom’s *Raphaël Bernardelli* illustrated
how: *“Rail
transport aims at being carbon neutral by 2050, and several major rail
operators have already committed to a diesel ban by 2035. At Alstom, we
have not only developed the full range of green traction solutions,
batteries and fuel cells but have already been the first manufacturer to
test and optimise them in passenger operations to make this transition a
reality now.”*

In terms of best applications of alternative fuel solutions in the market,
Siemens’ *Jochen Steinbauer* said: “*Hydrogen is the appropriate fuel for
replacement of diesel trains as well as an ideal supplement to
battery-powered trains. Securing the complete chain of value add to produce
green hydrogen is of the utmost concern for all contributing sectors.
Siemens Mobility believes in the transformation of the mobility sector
towards a sustainable CO2 free mobility on rails whereas hydrogen can in
addition support and stimulate an upcoming hydrogen economy”.*

In his closing remarks,* UNIFE *Director General* Philippe Citroën *reiterated
that*:* “*The market for new technologies such as hydrogen fuels-cells and
battery powered trains is ready and growing rapidly. UNIFE members are
fully committed to contributing to the deployment of green solutions.
Electrification and green propulsion systems assumes tremendous
significance for our Industry’s efforts to decarbonise lines that still run
on diesel. Therefore, UNIFE calls on the co-legislators to seriously
consider urgent decarbonisation measures at the European level for the rail
sector in the framework of the ongoing Alternative Fuels Infrastructure
Regulation (AFIR) and Trans European Network – Transport (TEN-T)
discussions. We also request to fully mobilise important funding within the
EU’s Recovery Package, the Connecting Europe Facility, the Cohesion funding
and the newly established European Investment Bank’s Green Rail Investment
Platform to support the green rail investments in the future”.*
*For more information*
*Andrei Ciufu*
UNIFE Head of Communications
E: [email protected]
T: +32 (0)2 626 12 64 *UNIFE *represents the* European Rail Supply Industry
*in Brussels since 1992. The association gathers more than 100 of Europe’s
leading large and medium-sized rail supply companies active in the design,
manufacture, maintenance, and refurbishment of rail transport systems,
subsystems and related equipment. UNIFE also brings together 12 national
rail industry associations of European countries. For more information,
visit www.unife.org