Germany to get world's first hydrogen-powered passenger train

French transit company unveils the new train

French transit company, Alstom, has revealed the world’s first hydrogen-powered passenger train which will begin making trips in Germany at the end of 2017.



“Alstom is proud to launch a breakthrough innovation in the field of clean transportation which will complete its Coradia range of regional trains. It shows our ability to work in close collaboration with our customers and develop a train in only two years,” declared Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Alstom Chairman and CEO.

The super quiet Coradia iLint is a new CO2-emission-free regional train and an alternative to diesel power. Powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, its only emission is steam and condensed water. Alstom is among the first railway manufacturers in the world to develop a passenger train based on such technology.



Alstom unveiled the new train at InnoTrans annual trade show in Berlin earlier this week. The train will start operating by the end of 2017, running on the Buxtehude-Bremervörde-Bremerhaven-Cuxhaven line in the northwestern German state of Lower Saxony.

Over 2,400 trains have been sold around the world by Alstom and the Coradia range has a proven service track record spanning more than 16 years. Coradia iLint will be manufactured in Salzgitter, Alstom’s largest site.

This article originally appeared on The Verge