Prospects for using hydrogen on railway transport

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a study on the prospects of using hydrogen in railway transport. Factors influencing the development of the hydrogen energy market in the world are considered. According to experts, the share of the Russian Federation may amount to 10-15 % of the world market. At the same time, South-East Asia is an important focus area for Russia. This is due to the availability of available raw materials (Sakhalin) and the short delivery time of hydrogen to the main consumers (China, Japan). Three key areas are identified as prospective research and development of the “Research & Development” program: 1 – generation, 2 – storage and transportation, 3 – consumption (use). The paper considers the main ways of using hydrogen fuel on autonomous traction rolling stock. In accordance with the energy strategy of the Russian Railways holding for the future until 2030, the main energy-saving technical solutions and technologies are the creation of a new generation of energy-efficient rolling stock. This also includes partial substitution of diesel fuel with the development of hydrogen fuel cells and the use of advances in the field of hydrogen energy. Currently, the company is working on the creation of serial two-diesel, hybrid locomotives, as well as gas-turbine and gas-thermal locomotives powered by liquefied natural gas. However, in terms of energy and environmental characteristics, the most promising type of fuel is hydrogen. Engineering solutions for generating hydrogen on board of locomotive are presented, and experimental results are presented. The developed hydrogen-aluminum generator makes it possible to organize a new approach in the working process of transport power plants by automatically feeding the initial components (aluminum) to the chemical reaction zone, depending on the locomotive engine’s demand for hydrogen in various operating modes.