Changing trains: an assessment of the feasibility of retrofitting electric passenger trains with hydrogen fuel cells to decarbonise non-electrified railways

Calvert, Charles (2023). Changing trains: an assessment of the feasibility of retrofitting electric passenger trains with hydrogen fuel cells to decarbonise non-electrified railways. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

The age of the ubiquitous predominance of fossil fuels is almost at an end.

Global temperatures are rising, sea levels are rising and the price at the pump of petrol and diesel has now risen meteorically too, price inflation driven by shocks to supply caused by a war that in turn has been fuelled by oil revenues. Humankind is finally awakening from the complacency and irresponsibility that lead to the almost unlimited use of fossil fuels that has led to the poisoning of the land we walk on, the air we breathe and the oceans that cover most of our planet. An alternative is needed, and it is needed now.

At the time of writing, several competing and complimentary zero-emissions and sustainable technologies that can replace fossil fuels as energy storage and as a source of power are in the early, tentative, stages of adoption. Most visibly, battery electric personal cars have started to have limited market success, however batteries do not scale well as an energy source, the poor gravimetric energy density make batteries unable to provide any kind of reasonable range for heavy duty vehicles due to the infeasibly high weight such a battery would have. To provide a practical replacement for petrol, diesel and jet fuel, a different solution is required.

Hydrogen offers a potential decarbonised power solution for heavy haul and long-range vehicles, including cars, buses, trucks, trains and even aircraft. The energy density of the fuel in compressed gas form and the efficiency of the fuel cells that produce electricity from this fuel is sufficient that the range and refuelling times of hydrogen powered vehicles can match that of diesel-powered vehicles.

This thesis argues that hydrogen technology is at a sufficient level of development to allow widespread adoption to replace new-build diesel trains on unelectrified railway routes in the UK. Rail is already one of the most energy efficient forms of transport, but it is still possible to further reduce harmful emissions both at the point of use and overall to meet ever more stringent emissions targets. It is argued that is possible to quickly and economically create hydrogen trains by retrofitting legacy electric trains with hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen tanks and traction batteries to provide the electric power that they require.

Literature based review was conducted into the present state of decarbonising railway technologies and the five years of experience the author gathered during this study working on three hydrogen train projects is discussed.

As part of this research, a full-scale hydrogen train testbed was constructed in only three months. From the development of this train, it was determined that it was possible to achieve the conversion, however passenger space had to be devoted to hydrogen equipment and the range of the train would be less than that of a comparable diesel train.

A method for producing concept designs for hydrogen trains based on a given specification was developed from the author’s experience constructing the HydroFLEX 1 train and was used to design the HydroFLEX 2 “First in Class” hydrogen train, a train was specified for use in passenger service on partially electrified routes. Passenger space was converted to hydrogen space on this train. The hydrogen system was intended for use as a range extender for operations split between electrified and unelectrified railway lines.

This methodology was then demonstrated in this thesis to produce a concept design for a passenger train based on a retrofitted electric multiple unit for use on lower speed unelectrified lines. Discussion was made into the hydrogen supply options to support a fleet of the trains designed in the preceding chapters.

The original contribution of this work was the development of several hydrogen powered trains and a systems based methodology for the design of future trains.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):