World News

World News23.01.2023

A closer look at Italy’s new hydrogen and battery train tenders

QAZAQ GREEN. Italy is making a leap forward in the use of hydrogen and battery trains, driven by investments via the country’s recovery plan after the corona pandemic. Here is an overview of the recently published tenders and Italy’s plan for the use of hydrogen and battery traction to replace current diesel operations, Railtech reports.

Back in 2020, Ferrovie Nord Milano, Alstom and energy producer Snam signed an agreement for the use of hydrogen trains on the railway network in Lombardy for the Brescia-Iseo-Edolo railway line. Since that time, many more developments in the area of hydrogen trains have happened in Italy, as well as some in battery trains.

Hydrogen trains in Sardinia, Calabria and Sicily

On the Italian island of Sardinia, the Sardinian Regional Transport Company (ARST) published a tender in December 2022 for the supply of 3 hydrogen traction units with the option of 5 additional units, for the Sardinian capital Cagliari. The trains will run on the 950 mm gauge railway lines of ARST. The tender has an estimated value of 111,5 million euros, and also has an option for full service maintenance services of the rolling stock and spare parts. The project is partly funded by Italy’s National Investment Plan complementary to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) to recover after the coronavirus pandemic. The trains, as well as the other hydrogen trains in this article, refer to hydrogen fuel cell trains, which run on electric traction, powered by an on-board hydrogen fuel cell which converts the fuel to electric power.

In the Calabria region in South-East Italy, Ferrovie Della Calabria published a tender for the supply of hydrogen powered railcars for the capital Catanzaro. It includes the supply of five 5 hydrogen powered railcars, with the option of 3 additional trains and full service option.The tender has an estimated value of 110 million euros, and the trains should be supplied no later than 31 December 2026.

The first five trains are financed by the Decree of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility with reference to the intervention programme for the upgrading of regional railway lines and receives EU funding of the recovery and resilience fund after the pandemic. The optional additional trains and service contracts are financed from operating funds and any additional resources that could be made available for experimentation of hydrogen in transport.

On the island of Sicily, Circumetnea Railway has published a tender for the supply, commissioning and full service maintenance of 15 Hydrogen traction units for the 111-kilometre narrow gauge line around Mount Etna. The line currently operates with diesel multiple units diesel by Polish manufacturer Newag, fittingly named ‘Vulcano’. With an estimated value of 267 million euros. The project is receiving funding from the Complementary Fund to Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, but not from the EU.

Unified Transport Company of Abruzzo (TUA) published a tender for the supply of 10 bimodal electric/battery trains with an estimated value of 112 million euros for the railway in Pescara in the Abruzzo region. The trains should be able to run for 130 kilometres on battery mode for the unelectrified section Sulmona -L’Aquila -Sulmona. The batteries will be recharged by the pantograph both in parking mode and while running. In parking mode, they will be recharged at Sulmona station using the pantograph, and the maximum recharging time should be 45 minutes.

In order for hydrogen train operations to really be ‘zero-emission’, and not only the exhaust vent of the train, the production means are highly relevant, as hydrogen can be produced by burning fossil fuels as well. The Italian government is supporting the increase of hydrogen produced by renewable energy, named ‘green hydrogen’. Last December, the Italian Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security allocated the 500 million euros earmarked for investment of the PNRR for the production of hydrogen in abandoned industrial areas. Tenders have been published for renewable hydrogen production plants in Piedmont , Valle d’Aosta, Puglia, and Sicily, all financed by the PNRR for the “Green Revolution and ecological transition”.

Likewise, sustainability of energy also depends on whether it is produced with renewable resources, like sun, wind and hydropower. In total, the share of renewable energy in Italy’s energy use is 20.4 percent in 2020 according to Eurostat data, just below the EU average of 22.1 percent in that year. In FS Italiane’s Industrial plan until 2031, which rail infrastructure manager RFI is part of, the group set as a goal to have 41 percent renewable energy in this decade.

28.03.2024
Kazakhstan's renewable energy generation reaches 5.92%
28.03.2024
Building new wind and solar projects is getting harder but this German village could have the answer
28.03.2024
Prime Minister discussed construction of hybrid power plant in Mangistau region with Upstream Director of ENI
27.03.2024
Self-assembling crane promises to halve cost of offshore wind setup
27.03.2024
Turkey's inaugural floating solar power plant has been established.
27.03.2024
Uzbekistan building a cascade of six HPPs and two SPPs
27.03.2024
Construction of first wind farm in Kyrgyzstan to begin in 2025
26.03.2024
Northvolt launches electric car battery plant in Germany
26.03.2024
EIB agrees $109MM in green finance for Danish SMEs
26.03.2024
Kazakhstan's ambitions for a "green" energy transformation was discussed at the BETD
26.03.2024
Winged cargo ship saves three tonnes of fuel per day on first voyage
20.03.2024
World's largest aircraft delivers colossal cargo to makeshift airstrips
20.03.2024
Two-faced solar panels can generate more power at up to 70% less cost
19.03.2024
Renewables alliance unveils $10tn action plan
19.03.2024
Reimagining the future of solar energy
18.03.2024
New project to facilitate R&D of world’s largest floating solar plant
18.03.2024
What impact will the EU's CBAM have on industrial sector of Kazakhstan
14.03.2024
US invests $425 million in clean energy and decarbonization projects in former coal communities
14.03.2024
Uzbekhydroenergo and Masdar sign agrt on pumped storage hydropower projects in Uzbekistan
14.03.2024
Kazakh residents to be able to sell extra power from home solar/wind systems