{"id":561772,"date":"2026-10-02T18:37:51","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T08:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=74716"},"modified":"2026-10-02T18:37:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T08:37:51","slug":"will-there-ever-be-a-use-case-for-hydrogen-in-rail-freight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=561772","title":{"rendered":"Will there ever be a use-case for hydrogen in rail freight?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Several railway-based trials have been undertaken and are underway\/planned to test the feasibility of hydrogen across Europe. Due to a variety of reasons, including cost and reliability, none have led to a commercially viable hydrogen-powered rail freight operation. RailFreight.com spoke with leading energy decarbonisation expert Michael Barnard, based in Vancouver, Canada, to try to understand why.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Approximately 42.4% of Europe\u2019s railway network remains non-electrified. As such, there is a use case for a fuel system that allows trains to travel on just under half of the network. Much of this is handled by diesel trains at present.<\/p>\n

Barnard says outright, \u201cAt present, I can’t identify a European freight application where I would recommend hydrogen over the alternatives. \u201cNon-electrified\u201d does not mean \u201cneeds a fuel.\u201d It means deciding how much of the route should be wired and how much onboard storage is needed for the rest. Partial electrification plus batteries means you don’t need wires over every siding, terminal, bridge or lightly used kilometre.\u201d<\/p>\n

Too expensive<\/h2>\n

Currently, the cost per kilometre of transport using hydrogen fuel is much higher than that of diesel or even battery-electric. Many pro-hydrogen organisations say that there is potential for this to fall. Currently, while Europe has the industrial capacity to produce low-emissions hydrogen (electrolysed from water using renewable or nuclear energy), many electrolysers are running below capacity. Could a growth in demand \u2013 potentially from mass adoption by rail freight companies \u2013 help improve capacity and reduce the cost?<\/p>\n

Barnard is again sceptical. \u201cRail freight might improve the utilisation of a stranded electrolyser. It does not make its hydrogen cheap. Higher utilisation spreads electrolyser capital over more kilograms, but it also means operating during more hours when electricity is not exceptionally cheap. Then come balance-of-plant costs, compression, storage, transport and dispensing.\u201d<\/p>\n