A report issued by the Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies (VDE) – a German government-funded electrical standard and research group – says that battery trains are 35% cheaper than hydrogen over a 30-year working life. The study analyzed the cost-effectiveness of battery electric multiple units (BEMU) and hydrogen-electric multiple units (HEMU) as alternatives to diesel.
They found BEMUs to be €59 million less expensive to buy, operate, and maintain than HEMUs. However, the study calculated only ‘green’ hydrogen – the kind made using renewable sources like wind and solar – which at the moment is still more expensive. The figures would be lower if they calculated trains using ‘grey’ hydrogen – the kind made using fossil fuels. The study also presumes that hydrogen will be more costly because electricity is needed to produce it in the first place.
Dr. Wolfgang Klebsch, the report’s author, said:
To achieve climate change goals, we assumed that green hydrogen would be used. Green hydrogen is generated electrolytically by an electrolyzer with an efficiency of less than 80% through the use of electricity from renewable sources … in terms of energy content, the price of green hydrogen is therefore always higher than the price of electricity’. Not only that, but the hydrogen onboard the train must be converted into electricity for traction with an efficiency of less than 70%.
The models used in the analysis were centered on Düren, North Rhine-Westphalia, and based on the planned conditions of the rail network by 2026. The case study calculated factors such as train speed, timings, and energy use. Overall, the study concluded that the costs of battery-powered EMUs are on par with those of EMUs taking electricity from overhead wires. At the same time, hydrogen-powered EMUs are less efficient and more expensive, requiring several fuel cell replacements over their lifespan.
Dr. Klebsch said that:
…to verify this difference, we also carried out an extensive sensitivity analysis in addition to determining the capital values. And here we see that the difference is significant. No matter how you look at it, the battery concept always stays ahead.
The drastic cost difference between battery-powered and hydrogen-powered trains will likely get smaller as hydrogen technology advances, but it’s impossible to forecast how long that will take.
Germany has committed to removing diesel-powered trains (DMUs) entirely by 2050; however, 232.9 million km remain operated by DMUs. For now, the country continues to adopt BEMUs and HEMUs for regular operation increasingly. There are currently 31.2 million km of German railway exclusively contracted or tendered for BEMU operation and 5.2 million km of hydrogen trains limited to two contracts in Lower Saxony and Hessen. Furthermore, no DMUs are to be ordered from 2025 onward.
