DB Vehicle Maintenance and the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials Research (IFAM) have announced a partnership to establish a test centre in Bremen, Germany, for converting internal combustion engines to run on hydrogen.
The first step in this process will be to conduct research on how diesel engines used in rail applications today can be converted to run on hydrogen. In the long term, it is hoped that the project will help to secure the future of the Hemelingen facility in Bremen as DB transitions to alternatives to diesel.
Indeed, the Bremen site is described as having the potential to become a “beacon” for low-CO2 engine conversion, according to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by German Rail (DB) and the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. The State of Bremen has committed several hundred thousand euros to convert the Hemelingen maintenance facility for the project. Completion is expected in the autumn.
Hemelingen is currently responsible for maintenance and overhaul of diesel engines and drive systems within the DB rolling stock maintenance network. DB is investing more than €4m in the site, which includes the construction of a new transshipment hall, modernisation of a test cell for drive systems, and the renewal of an engine washing system. The State of Bremen is also funding research activities at the site.
