India to roll out first domestically built hydrogen-powered train by 2023, railway minister says

India has announced that it’s going to produce its first domestically designed, hydrogen-powered train next year, aiming to replace some decades-old diesel and electricity powered vehicles.

India’s railway minister Ashiwni Vaishnaw told local media outlets that the work for the country’s first hydrogen train is already underway, with design expected to be out by the summer of 2023.

The project is supposed to be completed by December 2023, the Economic Times newspaper reported quoting the Indian minister.

“We are designing and the design should be out by anywhere by May or June,” Mr Vaishnaw, India’s minister for railways told reporters during a visit to the southern city of Bengaluru.

The project is called the Vande Metro. Vande means to praise or salute in Sanskrit.

The minister said the new hydrogen-powered train would be manufactured in large numbers with the ultimate aim to replace the decades old trains India currently uses, mostly built in the 1950s and 60s.

Most trains in India are diesel or electricity powered, but the country has been betting high on green hydrogen off late.

Hydrogen is being seen as a potential green alternative for energy, with several countries launching projects to run trains and other modes of transport powered by the fuel.

In July this year, Germany became the first country in the world to run hydrogen-powered trains. The train is touted as zero-emission with low levels of noise and exhaust being only steam and condensed water.

The project was completed at a cost of $86m. The train has also been tested in Austria, Poland, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Green hydrogen is produced using renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The technology is still in its infancy with concerns surrounding the investments and its uncertain future.

However, several reports point to an increased degree of trust in the technology with green hydrogen being touted as the fuel of the future, with more investments coming in cars and other modes of transports.