JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #130 - September/October 2019 - 39

Alstom to deliver the world's largest fleet of hydrogen fuel cell powered trains

train to be powered by a hydrogen fuel cell
that produces electricity for the traction. The
trains are as silent as a suburban train. Because
they release only steam and liquid water into
the environment, there are no local emissions.
Alstom turned to Xperion for the pre-production trains, for which the tank system will be
supplied by Wystrach. Wystrach in turn called
on Nproxx for the pressure tanks, which are
Type 4 pressure cylinders with a plastic liner
and outer structure made of filament-wound
carbon fibre reinforced composite. Nproxx is
one of the world's leading designer/developer/manufacturers of Type 4 pressure vessels
for storing hydrogen under high pressure.
The carbon-fibre pressure tanks are safe,
durable, lightweight and robust. This type
of vehicle is characterized by a number of
innovations, e.g. clean energy conversion,
flexible energy storage in the batteries, and
smart management of the traction power
and available energy, combined with the
appropriate driver assistance systems. Because
the iLint was developed specifically for use on
unelectrified lines, train operation is clean and
sustainable, yet highly cost-effective for iLint
customers.

More information:
www.alstom.com

Focus
What is a Type 4 pressure tank?
To understand why the Type 4 is suited for the task, you need to know
more about the different types of pressure tanks.
- - Type 1: Traditional all-metal bottle used to store liquids and gases
for industrial processes. These are cheap to produce, but heavy.
- - Type 2: An additional layer of carbon fibre is added for reinforcement
on the inner circumference of a tank to share the load with the metal.
These are stronger and weigh less, but are more expensive to make
than Type 1.
- - Type 3: A carbon-fibre composite tank with an inner steel or aluminium tank. The outer carbon-fibre tank supports the load. This type
requires more carbon fibre, so it costs more than Type 2, but can
withstand higher pressures.
- - Type 4: A carbon-fibre tank with an inner liner made of polyethylene
plastic. It weighs much less and is highly resistant, but comparatively
expensive due to the volume of carbon fibre.
What are the advantages of Type 4 tanks?
While Type 1 tanks fulfil most of the basic storage requirements, weight
is a factor to consider for the transport of pressure tanks. The weight
of metal and part-metal tanks increase the cost of transport, which
explains the emergence of the use of carbon fibre.
Another important factor is the strength. Carbon fibre gives the tank
more compressive strength, making it possible to take on higher loads.
The carbon fibre also significantly increases the corrosion and fatigue
resistance of pressure vessels, which is an important advantage for
safety.
The amount of volume is another crucial advantage of carbon fibre for
composite pressure tanks (Type 4). The "natural" strength of Type 4
pressure tanks enables them to store hydrogen at high pressures. The
combination of several of these advantages in a tank makes it possible
to store large volumes of hydrogen.
Source : Nproxx

N°130 September - October 2019

/ jec composites magazine

Feature Energy

Each coach seats 160
The world's first two hydrogen-powered trains
have already been operating on a regular
commercial basis on the Elbe-Weser network
in Lower Saxony since September 2018.
Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft Niedersachsen (LNVG), the local transport authority
for the Lower Saxony state, will operate 14
Coradia iLint trains on this line as of 2021.
So RMV is the second operator to adopt
exhaust-emission-free, environment friendly
hydrogen technology by using the trainsets
supplied by Fahma.
The 27 new fuel-cell trains will be equipped
with comprehensive passenger information
systems with screens that display real-time
information. Space for bicycles, wheelchairs
and strollers will be available, as will free access
to WiFi for passengers during their ride. With
160 seats per coach, the capacity of the lines in
the Taunus sub-network will increase by 40%,
which is especially important for suburban
rush-hour traffic.

Fahma, a subsidiary of RMV, has ordered the world's largest fuel cell powered train fleet from Alstom

http://www.alstom.com

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #130 - September/October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #130 - September/October 2019