Rail transportation has been traditionally being powered mostly by diesel traction. However, owing to the decarbonization targets set forth by the EU, diesel traction needs to be replaced by alternate climate friendly methods of rail traction. Although, among these alternate means, electric traction has been the prevalent technology, but hydrogen traction has also been projected as the missing piece in the transport decarbonization puzzle. This research aims to perform a comparative analysis of the three different rail traction technologies: hydrogen traction, electric traction, and diesel traction. For this purpose, the well to wheel (WTW) method has been used to estimate the overall efficiencies and environmental impact of the three traction methods. The study considered three geographical locations for the WTW analysis of electric traction based on different energy mixtures to compare with grey hydrogen traction as well as diesel traction. The research extends the WTW analysis to include green hydrogen powered rail produced through solar, wind and hydro energy in order to assess its viability for rail traction. The results of the study concluded that the WTW efficiency of green hydrogen generated through solar energy is 9% which is very competitive with that of direct rail electrification through solar power i.e. 11%. However, utilization of wind energy for hydrogen traction has a 14% lower WTW efficiency than using electric traction through wind power. Notwithstanding this lower efficiency, the study advocates that green hydrogen can be very useful in energy storage during variation in power output from renewable energy power plants. Moreover, the study also highlights the safety hazards involved with hydrogen storage and the need for addressing these concerns through further research and thorough assessment. The research can prove beneficial to decision makers in the EU transport sector in assessing new rail projects.
Il trasporto ferroviario è stato tradizionalmente alimentato principalmente dalla trazione diesel. Tuttavia, a causa degli obiettivi di decarbonizzazione stabiliti dall'UE, la trazione diesel deve essere sostituita da metodi alternativi di trazione ferroviaria rispettosi del clima. Sebbene tra questi mezzi alternativi la trazione elettrica sia stata la tecnologia prevalente, anche la trazione a idrogeno è stata indicata come il tassello mancante nel puzzle della decarbonizzazione dei trasporti. Questa ricerca si propone di effettuare un'analisi comparativa delle tre diverse tecnologie di trazione ferroviaria: trazione a idrogeno, trazione elettrica e trazione diesel. A tal fine, è stato utilizzato il metodo well to wheel (WTW) per stimare l'efficienza complessiva e l'impatto ambientale dei tre metodi di trazione. Lo studio ha preso in considerazione tre località geografiche per l'analisi WTW della trazione elettrica basata su diverse miscele di energia da confrontare con la trazione grigia a idrogeno e la trazione diesel. La ricerca estende l'analisi del WTW per includere la ferrovia verde alimentata a idrogeno prodotto attraverso l'energia solare, eolica e idroelettrica, al fine di valutarne la fattibilità per la trazione ferroviaria. I risultati dello studio hanno concluso che l'efficienza WTW dell'idrogeno verde generato attraverso l'energia solare è del 9%, molto competitiva rispetto a quella dell'elettrificazione diretta della ferrovia attraverso l'energia solare, pari all'11%. Tuttavia, l'utilizzo dell'energia eolica per la trazione a idrogeno ha un'efficienza WTW inferiore del 14% rispetto all'utilizzo della trazione elettrica attraverso l'energia eolica. Nonostante questa minore efficienza, lo studio sostiene che l'idrogeno verde può essere molto utile per l'immagazzinamento dell'energia durante le variazioni di produzione delle centrali elettriche a energia rinnovabile. Inoltre, lo studio evidenzia anche i rischi per la sicurezza legati allo stoccaggio dell'idrogeno e la necessità di affrontare questi problemi attraverso ulteriori ricerche e valutazioni approfondite. La ricerca può rivelarsi utile per i decisori del settore dei trasporti dell'UE nella valutazione di nuovi progetti ferroviari.
Potential of hydrogen as transportation fuel in rail applications
FAIZ, SYED ABDULLAH
2022/2023
Abstract
Rail transportation has been traditionally being powered mostly by diesel traction. However, owing to the decarbonization targets set forth by the EU, diesel traction needs to be replaced by alternate climate friendly methods of rail traction. Although, among these alternate means, electric traction has been the prevalent technology, but hydrogen traction has also been projected as the missing piece in the transport decarbonization puzzle. This research aims to perform a comparative analysis of the three different rail traction technologies: hydrogen traction, electric traction, and diesel traction. For this purpose, the well to wheel (WTW) method has been used to estimate the overall efficiencies and environmental impact of the three traction methods. The study considered three geographical locations for the WTW analysis of electric traction based on different energy mixtures to compare with grey hydrogen traction as well as diesel traction. The research extends the WTW analysis to include green hydrogen powered rail produced through solar, wind and hydro energy in order to assess its viability for rail traction. The results of the study concluded that the WTW efficiency of green hydrogen generated through solar energy is 9% which is very competitive with that of direct rail electrification through solar power i.e. 11%. However, utilization of wind energy for hydrogen traction has a 14% lower WTW efficiency than using electric traction through wind power. Notwithstanding this lower efficiency, the study advocates that green hydrogen can be very useful in energy storage during variation in power output from renewable energy power plants. Moreover, the study also highlights the safety hazards involved with hydrogen storage and the need for addressing these concerns through further research and thorough assessment. The research can prove beneficial to decision makers in the EU transport sector in assessing new rail projects.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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2023_12_Faiz.pdf
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Descrizione: Potential of Hydrogen as transportation fuel in rail applications
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/215561