Skip to main content

Ballard and Siemens sign $9 million agreement on fuel cell engine train

Ballard Power Systems (BPS) has announced it has signed a development agreement with Siemens, with a contemplated value of $9 million (£6.8 million), to develop a zero-emission fuel cell engine to power Siemens’ Mireo light rail train in Germany. Initial deployments of the train are planned for 2021. BPS will develop a 200-kilowatt fuel cell engine for integration into the new train platform which aims to reach speeds of up to 160 km per hour (100 miles per hour). Sabrina Soussan, chief executive officer
November 16, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Ballard Power Systems (BPS) has announced it has signed a development agreement with 189 Siemens, with a contemplated value of $9 million (£6.8 million), to develop a zero-emission fuel cell engine to power Siemens’ Mireo light rail train in Germany. Initial deployments of the train are planned for 2021.
 
BPS will develop a 200-kilowatt fuel cell engine for integration into the new train platform which aims to reach speeds of up to 160 km per hour (100 miles per hour).

Sabrina Soussan, chief executive officer of the Mobility Division at Siemens said, "Our cooperation with Ballard is a decisive step towards replacing diesel-powered rail vehicles with emissions-free vehicles in the long-term interests of sustainable and climate-friendly mobility. We want to be able to offer our customers flexible train solutions for various suburban routes, which vary according to regional conditions and technical possibilities."

Randy MacEwen, BPS president and chief executive officer added, "We are seeing rapid market demand growing for clean energy fuel cell technology in a range of Heavy Duty Motive applications, including trains, trams, transit buses and commercial trucks. This Development Agreement with Siemens, a major industrial conglomerate and leading global train OEM, is a testament to the overall value proposition offered by Ballard's fuel cell technology in a demanding use case and duty cycle. In this application, fuel cells enable electrification with range, without the need for costly catenary wire infrastructure." 

Related Content

  • October 22, 2014
    Using electricity to power road freight
    Next year sees the start of the first real-life electrified road system for transporting freight. Worldwide freight transportation is predicted to double by 2050 but despite expansion of global rail infrastructure only one third of this additional freight transport can be handled by trains. This means that the largest proportion of freight transport will continue to be by road and as a result, experts expect global CO2 emissions from road freight traffic to more than double by 2050.
  • June 22, 2016
    World's first eHighway opens in Sweden
    Today sees the opening of the world's first eHighway in Sweden. For the next two years, a Siemens catenary system for trucks will be tested on a two-kilometre stretch of the E16 highway north of Stockholm. The trial will use two diesel hybrid vehicles manufactured by Scania and adapted, in collaboration with Siemens, to operate under the catenary system The core of the system is an intelligent pantograph combined with a hybrid drive system. A sensor system enables the pantograph to connect to and disconn
  • August 11, 2021
    Consortium to study UK eHighway feasibility 
    Partners including Siemens hope overhead electricity lines will serve major roads by 2030s
  • July 26, 2021
    Birmingham CAZ is green for go
    For urban authorities worldwide, the health of residents is racing up the political agenda. Ben Spencer looks at how one city - Birmingham, UK - has established its own Clean Air Zone and is investing in alternative-fuel vehicles and public transport incentives