According to the country’s railway minister, India will launch its first hydrogen-powered train by December 2023.
“We are designing, and the design should be out by May or June,” Ashiwni Vaishnaw, India’s railways minister, told reporters during a visit to the southern city of Bengaluru.
The train, called the Vande Metro, would be mass-produced, with the ultimate goal of replacing trains built in the 1950s and 1960s, according to Vaishnaw.
In August, Germany became the first country to operate hydrogen-powered trains. These trains produce no pollution or noise, emitting only steam and evaporated water.
Though its potential applications and costs are still unknown, governments and energy companies around the world are counting on clean hydrogen to play a significant role in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and this is yet another example.