November 5, 2016

Germany's new low emmissions train

Ecowath - The Coradia iLint, developed by French rail transport company Alstom, was presented last month at InnoTrans, the railway industry's largest trade fair.

The hydrogen, aka "hydrail," train is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell and emits nothing but steam and condensed water, making it a much quieter and eco-friendly alternative to the 4,000 diesel trains currently in circulation in the country, according to a company press release.

As CityLab pointed out, the train's fuel source is effectively carbon neutral since the hydrogen used by the train actually came from waste byproducts from the chemical industry and other manufacturers.

"Typically, this hydrogen is simply burned, so using it to power trains would not place any new, additional burden on the environment," CityLab wrote. "Admittedly, the production of such chemicals is itself not always carbon-neutral, but given that these substances are already being manufactured, the train project will at least ensure that this process is more productive."

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