The "HyTraGen" (Hydrogen-Tram for next Generation) research project has begun in Chemnitz. Hörmann Vehicle Engineering GmbH and Chemnitz University of Technology (TUC) want to put Europe's first hydrogen fuel cell-powered streetcar into operation by the end of 2026. The university is receiving funding of 1.2 million euros for the project. In total, the development of the hydrogen streetcar is being supported with around 8 million euros.
Other project partners include the streetcar manufacturer Heiterblick GmbH from Leipzig and Flexiva Automation & Robotik GmbH from Amtsberg in the Ore Mountains. Testing on the rails is to take place until 2026 in cooperation with Görlitzer Verkehrsbetriebe (GVB). The funding for "HyTraGen" comes from the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Affairs as part of the "National Innovation Program Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Phase 2".
Over the next three years, the research team at the Chair of Alternative Vehicle Drives will focus on "developing a refueling strategy" and developing simulation models for the ageing of the powertrain. Another research focus will be on measuring the fuel cell system before integrating it into the streetcar, according to project manager Erik Pohl, research assistant at the Chair of Alternative Vehicle Drives.
The Saxon consortium intends to use the project results to lay the foundations for the production of new rail vehicles in the state. Both the vehicles and their system components can be used to generate added value, as the project results can be used for other types of rail vehicles such as streetcars. The approach of a hydrogen-powered streetcar could also be of interest for the "Chemnitz Model" infrastructure project. At the end of January, a local alliance called for the city to be connected to the hydrogen core network; a hydrogen research center has been under construction here since 2022.
Topless: streetcars without overhead lines
Hydrogen-based drives are likely to become an "integral part of new vehicle developments", according to Dr. Volkmar Vogel, Senior Vice President at Hörmann Vehicle Engineering in Chemnitz. Such vehicles are already in use in Asia. There, the company developed the idea for an overhead line-free streetcar with hydrogen and fuel cell drive in 2019.
The hydrogen streetcar is not intended to be in direct competition with existing trolley streetcars. Rather, it represents an alternative for routes where overhead lines are "not necessary or sensible". New districts could be opened up more easily and with lower infrastructure costs.
Prof. Dr. Thomas von Unwerth, Chair of Alternative Vehicle Drives at the TUC, explains: "In the future, hydrogen will be able to demonstrate its advantages above all where large masses are transported over long distances, i.e. especially in heavy goods, freight and passenger transport." In addition to hydrogen filling stations, this also requires a lightweight design. The streetcars should "not be heavier than conventional streetcars", so the research team has to compensate for the "extra weight of the hydrogen tanks" elsewhere.
