South Korea develops hydrogen-powered train

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it had succeeded in developing a test vehicle for a hydrogen-powered electric train in collaboration with the state-run Korea Railroad Research Institute.

The two parties have carried out a project since 2018 to develop a hydrogen fuel cell-based hybrid propulsion system that enables train operation without electric facilities in a non-electrified section.

Local railway vehicle maker Woojin Industrial Systems Co. manufactured the test vehicle and the state-run train service provider Korea Railroad Corp. developed the operational technology.

The hydrogen-powered electric train is equipped with a hybrid power system (1.2 megawatts) based on a hydrogen fuel cell and secondary cell, and also features a smart energy management system.

The train has a maximum operational speed of more than 110 km per hour and a range of more than 600 km on a single charge.