News

08.10.2021

Metrowagonmash (MWM, part of TMH) site hosted a field meeting of TMH and Russian Railways specialists on the use of hydrogen fuel cells in modern rolling stock. The project of using hydrogen as a transport fuel is a global trend aimed at improving the environment, decarbonizing and combating climate change.

The participants of the meeting toured the production site of the company, including the RA-3 Orlan rail bus assembly shop, the experience of working on which is widely used in the implementation of the project to create a train with hydrogen fuel cells. During the visit, Russian Railways specialists also visited the office of TMH Engineering (TMHI, part of TMH), where they discussed with the designers a new design technology - the creation of a digital prototype of rolling stock, which allows for a detailed analysis of the operation and optimization of all train systems and modes of its operation at the stage design.

As part of the preparatory work, Metrowagonmash must assess the readiness of the company for the production of rolling stock running on hydrogen fuel; form a plan for preparing its production site, taking into account the requirements for the installation of hydrogen power plants, storage and refueling of hydrogen power plants. TMH Engineering is involved developing a project for a digital prototype of the rolling stock and individual technical solutions in the design documentation.

Transmashholding pays great attention to the implementation of the hydrogen fuel cell train project. Work in this direction began in the fall of 2019, when at the Eastern Economic Forum TMH CEO Kirill Lipa, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Russian Railways Oleg Belozerov, Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev and Acting Governor of the Sakhalin Region Valery Limarenko signed a quadripartite cooperation agreement.

In early September of this year, the parties signed a protocol on recognizing the project for organizing a railway connection using hydrogen fuel cell trains on Sakhalin as expedient and technically feasible, which will allow moving on to the project implementation stage.

Under a preliminary agreement, Metrowagonmash will produce a batch of seven trains, their operation is scheduled for 2024. Investments in the implementation of the project are estimated at more than 1 billion rubles.