Germany's state-owned rail company Deutsche Bahn (DB) could "already today" carry close to 20pc of the hydrogen that Germany is expected to need by 2030, the firm has said.
The company's freight arm, DB Cargo, is working on large-scale solutions to transport hydrogen via rail from northwest European ports to the hinterland, especially industrial demand centres.
Existing tank wagons could allow for around 20 TWh/yr of hydrogen to be transported, primarily as derivatives such as ammonia and methanol, DB Cargo said. This would equate to around 600,000 t/yr, based on hydrogen's lower heating value of 33.33 KWh/kg. It would also be equivalent to nearly one-fifth of the 110 TWh/yr renewable hydrogen which the German government expects the country to consume towards the end of the decade, the company said.
DB said it could use four different wagons for carrying hydrogen, depending on the transport vector. Germany could import much of its hydrogen as ammonia which could then transported via rail in compressed gas tank wagons, the firm said. Meanwhile, black steel tank wagons can be used to carry methanol, cryogenic liquid containers could hold liquid hydrogen and multi-element gas containers used to transport hydrogen as a gas.
DB is also working to develop innovative containers to transport pure hydrogen to small-scale decentralised customers, such as hydrogen filling stations.
Rail transport will be a competitive and efficient alternative to pipelines, especially as a pipeline network for hydrogen does not exist yet, DB said. Berlin last month passed a law for establishing a hydrogen pipeline network through the country's natural gas system operators — but the core of this network is likely to start operations only in 2032, although individual branches could be ready sooner. Hydrogen transport via truck is also likely to present an alternative, but only on a smaller scale. A single train can replace up to 52 heavy-duty trucks and in the process reduce CO2 emissions by 80-100pc, DB said.
Germany has set a goal of installing 10GW electrolyser capacity by 2030, but will also have to rely heavily on imports to meet its projected hydrogen demand later in the decade. Berlin has struck various partnership agreements with other countries over supply of renewable hydrogen, including with Canada and Australia.
