JR East, Japan's largest railway company, will start testing Japan's first hydrogen powered train next month, another step towards the country's goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
The research and development cost of this two car train, called "hybari", is about 4 billion yen (about 35 million US dollars in total), with a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour and 140 kilometers when supplemented with hydrogen energy.
The East Japan Railway company last week demonstrated a test train equipped with a hybrid system powered by hydrogen fuel cells and batteries at the vehicle base in Kawasaki City. In order to realize the first commercial operation in Japan and China, the train will start running test in Kawasaki Denghu and other sections of Nanwu line in late March.
East Japan Railway Co., Ltd. cooperates with Toyota Motor and Hitachi to develop this train, plans to replace its Diesel train with this train, and seeks to develop the export market. Commercial services are expected to begin in 2030.
Japan has taken hydrogen energy as the key clean energy to achieve zero emissions. Toyota's goal is to increase the production of hydrogen fuel vehicle Mirai by 10 times in the second generation models, while producing more hydrogen fuel cell buses and commercial vehicles on the road.
The Japanese government said it aims to increase the use of hydrogen energy to 20 million tons by 2050, while energy companies such as Iwatani and Kawasaki heavy industries are trying to establish hydrogen energy supply chains to reduce their prices.
Europe has always been a pioneer of hydrogen powered trains. In 2018, railway manufacturer Alstom announced that the world's first hydrogen powered train officially entered passenger service and is ready for mass production. Siemens and Deutsche Bahn are also developing new regional trains and hydrogen stations, which will be tested in 2024.
