Alstom to introduce hydrogen trains to UK

[Jeff Smith]

Plan to replace diesels by 2040: RailwayTechnology.com

I'm assuming the tech is safer now than with the Hindenburg

French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom has announced plans to introduce hydrogen-powered trains to the UK to support the government’s plan to withdraw diesel locomotives by 2040.

The company is currently working on a project with Eversholt Rail to equip a fleet of Class 321 electric trains with hydrogen tanks and fuel cells to enable hydrogen-powered operations.

Hydrogen will be produced through sustainable electricity and electrolysis, where the fuel cells will produce electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen, creating water as a waste product.
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[Jeff Smith]

https://www.railway-technology.com/news ... gen-train/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Alstom and rolling stock operating company Eversholt Rail have unveiled the design of a new hydrogen train for the UK.

Codenamed Breeze, the train will be developed by converting the existing Class 321 trains.

Alstom will convert the Class 321 trains in collaboration with Eversholt Rail at its Widnes facility in the UK.

The converted Hydrogen Multiple Units (HMU) are expected to run throughout the UK in 2022. Equipped with hydrogen tanks and fuel cells, these clean trains will release only water as waste with no harmful emissions.
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[electricron]

There are two practical ways to create that much hydrogen; (1) refraction of hydrocarbons in a refinery and (2) electrolysis of water by using an electrical current. Refraction is far cheaper than electrolysis, but electricity can be created without hydrocarbons.
But they act like water and the resulting water vapor is a clean pollutant. Water vapor is by far the largest contributor of greenhouse gases. So they are advocating reducing carbon emissions for increasing water vapor, a bigger greenhouse gas in the name of reducing the greenhouse effect to global warming. Huh?
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/clim ... e-co2.html
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas
From the last link, relative effects of greenhouse gases:
Compound Formula Concentration in Atmosphere (ppm) Contribution in %
Water vapor and clouds H2O 10–50,000 36–72%
Carbon dioxide CO2 ~400 9–26%
Methane CH4 ~1.8 4–9%
Ozone O3 2–8 3–7%

[spRocket]

A critical thing to remember about water vapor vs. carbon dioxide: at 1 atmosphere, water condenses and CO2 doesn't. Carbon dioxide only liquefies under high pressure, and at 1 atm it freezes at -78.5 C/-109.3 F.