FCH2RAIL

The European rail system is going green, transitioning to electrification and alternate fuel sources to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and, consequently, emissions. Currently, only Switzerland is 100 % electrified, and the rest of the countries have varying amounts of electrification. FCH2RAIL will develop a fuel cell hybrid powerpack to meet intermediate needs. It will enable trains to pull electricity from overhead electric wires in regions where electrification exists and switch to the hydrogen fuel cell hybrid system on non-electrified sections of the track. Further, it will be equally applicable to retrofit existing electric or diesel trains to get them all on board.

The main objective of the FCH2RAIL project is to develop, build, test, demonstrate and homologate a scalable, modular and multi-purpose Fuel Cell Hybrid PowerPack (FCHPP) applicable for different rail applications (multiple unit, mainline and shunting locomotives) also suitable to for retrofit existing electric and diesel trains, to reach TRL7.

The project will start with a multi-country, multi railway-use-case analysis in order to derive requirements for the design, implementation and test of the FCHPP. Based on that the FCHPP will be designed and demonstrated in a retrofitted Bi-mode multiple unit that draws electricity from the catenary while operating on electrified sections and uses the FCH system as power source on non-electrified sections supported by an innovative train wide energy management system to minimise the energy and power consumption. In order to improve the energy efficiency of FCH traction systems, innovative on-board solutions are identified and benchmarked.

The train demonstrator tests will be carried out cross-border in Portugal and Spain and homologation will be seeked for three EU countries. A systematic screening of H2 and rail related EU-wide normative and standard frameworks concerning gaps related to an EU-wide implementation of FCH Bi-mode trains will be carried out. These activities, closely interconnected to the design, testing and homologation of the FCHPP demonstrator train activities, will result in the proposition of changes to and active involvement in standardisation and norming workgroups.

Regarding standardisation, the objective of the project is to develop the fundamental basis of a normative framework for the use of hydrogen technology
in different kinds of railway applications across Europe, and to generate the necessary momentum in the railway community for this framework to be taken to the regulatory and stardardisation bodies.to this objective, the FCH2RAIL:

• Identify existing regulatory gaps for application of hydrogen in the railway sector.
• Propose actions to resolve these gaps and facilitate the introduction of hydrogen technology in the railway sector.

The proposals developed in this project will be disclosed in regulatory and legislative forums.

Reason for applying to HSbooster.eu services

HSBooster can help to improve knowledge and expertise in standardisation, being very helpful to know where and how to propose modifications to the existing regulations, that is one of the objectives of the FCH2RAIL project. Besides, it can help to select relevant standardisation organisations to engage with, among other networking activities. All of that based on the existing documentation already developed within the project.