Increasing focus on energy-efficient, sustainable, and environmentally viable alternatives to carbon-emitting technology in the transportation sector has been a driving factor for the Germany hydrogen fuel cell train market share. A German state-owned railway company, LVNG, has diversified its ways to phase out diesel in 2012. In 2018, it commenced operation of the Alstom Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel-cell trains on trial routes in the Lower Saxony. The rolling out of these hydrogen-driven trains commercially slowed down owing to challenges such as lack of appropriate hardware and software, driver shortage, and challenges of hydrogen refueling stations in the winter season. In addition, the country is finding electric vehicles cheaper than hydrogen fuel cells. However, Germany has set a carbon emissions reduction goal of ~65% by 2030 and 88% by 2040. The rising advent of renewable energy resources and growing focus on utilizing green energy for initiating carbon emission goals are anticipated to boost the hydrogen fuel cell train market growth in Germany in the coming years.
The increasing awareness of the benefits and efficiency level of hydrogen-driven fuel cells is one of the major driving factors for the market. Fuel cells make the trains or vehicles more efficient, with less vibrations in the bogies and less noise production than conventional trains. The hydrogen-driven fuel cell trains only emit water as a waste product and help reduce air pollution. The increasing efficiency and advancement of hydrogen fuel cell technology in speed, noise, vibration, and energy efficiency are enhancing the global hydrogen fuel cell train market growth.
The growing population and urbanization are two major reasons fueling the demand for expanding railway transportation connectivity worldwide. The expanding industrialization and mounting number of working forces in different sectors also boost the requirement for new railway tracks for better connectivity. The overall growth and development in transportation connectivity are also having a positive impact in a broader sense on the growing advent of hydrogen fuel cell trains for fast travel.
Europe is leading the hydrogen fuel cell train market, followed by Asia Pacific and North America. Germany is a leading market in Europe, and the US holds a major shareholder in North America. In addition, China and South Korea are two major contributors to the hydrogen fuel cell train market share in Asia Pacific.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Train Market Analysis: End User Overview
The global hydrogen fuel cell train market is segmented into passenger rail, commuter rail, light rail, trams, freight, locomotives, and others. In 2022, the passenger rail segment accounted for the largest share of the global hydrogen fuel cell train market and is expected to be the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period.
The demand for passenger trains is growing rapidly across different regions. This is mainly due to the rise in passenger traffic across different countries worldwide. Several governments across different countries have been taking initiatives to upgrade their existing rail infrastructure to reduce the operational expenses and the CO2 emissions from rail operations. For instance, in 2021, the Indian Railways Organization of Alternate Fuel (IROAF) launched an initiative to add hydrogen fuel cell trains to the country’s rail infrastructure. The Indian Ministry of Railways has decided to convert several DEMU trains into hydrogen-powered trains through retrofitting operations. In September 2022, the Indian rail system integrator Medha Servo Drives provided the contract to Ballard Power Systems to provide fuel cell technologies for India’s first-ever hydrogen power trains. Similarly, in December 2022, Alstom announced the launch of its first fully hydrogen-powered passenger train route in Germany, wherein the rail comprises 14 units of two-car Coradia iLint vehicles equipped with hydrogen fuel cell propulsion. Such developments have driven the demand for hydrogen fuel cell trains across different regions for the passenger rail segment.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Train Market: Competitive Landscape and Key Developments
Alstom SA, TWI Ltd, Hyundai Corporation, Talgo, Siemens Mobility GmbH, CRRC Corp Ltd, WABTEC, Stadler Rail AG, and Ballard Power Systems are among the key hydrogen fuel cell train market players profiled during this study. In addition, several other important hydrogen fuel cell train market players have been studied and analyzed during the study to get a holistic view of the hydrogen fuel cell train market and its ecosystem.