I'm extremely skeptical of hydrogen trains. First, we all know that hydrogen cars are never going to take off because of the massive success of batteries. But as production of batteries ramps up, prices will fall and power densities will increase in a virtuous cycle. Adoption of battery cars (already widespread) drives the adoption of cargo vans, people movers and pickup trucks (a multitude of models shipping next year), but it doesn't stop there. BYD, Tesla, Daimler and others are working on battery-powered semis and buses, and once you're there, you're basically in train territory.
Think about a train - one expensive, custom, bespoke, finicky engine and 100 dumb cars. Why not make mass-produce 100 cars with batteries and motors built in, reusing the same cells or packs that you use in cars, van, picks, lorries, etc.
The fixed nature of train routes also means you can electrify parts of it strategically (ie, a few km around a station to help a train accelerate) and rely on a mix of battery and overhead lines.
At this point hydrogen still seems possibly usable for ships and long-distance planes - short-haul planes will be electrified in the coming decade due to the same mass production that will drive EV adoption.
Think about a train - one expensive, custom, bespoke, finicky engine and 100 dumb cars. Why not make mass-produce 100 cars with batteries and motors built in, reusing the same cells or packs that you use in cars, van, picks, lorries, etc.
The fixed nature of train routes also means you can electrify parts of it strategically (ie, a few km around a station to help a train accelerate) and rely on a mix of battery and overhead lines.
At this point hydrogen still seems possibly usable for ships and long-distance planes - short-haul planes will be electrified in the coming decade due to the same mass production that will drive EV adoption.