By Marc Menendez-Roche • Updated: 30 Sep 2024 • 0:22 • 1 minute read
Spain Unleashes World’s First High-Speed Hydrogen Train - UK left at the platform. Credit: Shutterstock, Scharfsinn
It’s full steam ahead for Spain’s new hydrogen train.
Spain have just smashed it in the green transport game. The legendary train builders Talgo have rolled out the world’s first high-speed hydrogen-powered train, giving the rest of Europe something to chase. Known for leading the way in rail tech, Talgo has put Spain firmly on the map, adding yet another feather to its cap after already boasting the title of Europe’s most efficient high-speed rail system. Talgo’s new hydrogen trains could revolutionise the future of global high-speed travel.
And what about the UK? Spain is moving at full steam, but Britain’s HydroFLEX, the first hydrogen-powered train, only entered trials in 2020. It’s progress, but when compared to European powerhouses like Spain and Germany, it’s still lagging behind in large-scale adoption. In contrast, Spain’s high-speed hydrogen trains make the UK‘s efforts seem like a sleepy Sunday morning jog.
Back in 2021, Repsol and Talgo joined forces to produce the Iberian peninsula’s first renewable hydrogen train. The technology offers massive benefits, both economically and environmentally. A hydrogen filling station is far cheaper than laying down overhead cables for traditional electric trains, which makes it an incredibly attractive option for decarbonising our railways.
Spain has done it again. This time, with a revolutionary hydrogen train that’s set to change the future of high-speed travel, not just for the country but for the entire world. Running on fuel cells that pump out nothing but water vapour, these trains are slashing the sky-high costs of traditional electric railways. It’s clean, it’s green, and it’s the future of travel. All eyes are now on Spain as they blaze the trail for the rest of the world.
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Marc is a writer, teacher, and language enthusiast with a passion for making complex topics simple and accessible. With a background in business and legal communication and an interest in educational neuroscience, Marc has spent over a decade teaching and writing. Now, as part of the team at Euro Weekly News, Marc enjoys diving into entertaining topics and stories that matter to the community. When he's not writing, Marc loves practising martial arts, playing football, cooking up a storm in the kitchen, or spending quality time with friends and family, but above all, Marc enjoys spending time with his son, Macson.
The UK would prefer to pay consultants ,set up committees,lot of talking, milk the taxpayer,and then do nothing. Rail travel and investment is a joke in the U
Only 0.7% of hydrogen production is green. 96% is grey hydrogen; it comes from oil companies and releases vast amounts of CO2 to produce. Green CO2 costs 3 to 4 times more than grey CO2 to produce. Which do you suppose this train is using? Oil companies have been conning us for decades; this is just more of the same.
In Germany, they use green hydrogen, they leave the wind turbines running when electricity demand is low to produce hydrogen. Busses in Hamburg use H2.
That’s today’s hydrogen production but once this proves itself then the business case for producing green hydrogen will start to look more convincing.
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