To optimise hydrogen systems in the railway industry, Alstom and Liebherr have signed a collaboration agreement that plans to improve the reliability, durability, power density, and cost of fuel cells.

Liebherr – Aerospace & Transportation SAS, a France-based company specialising in the manufacture of compressors for fuel cells has signed a collaboration agreement1 with Alstom, which is aimed at optimising hydrogen systems, including improving the reliability and durability of fuel cells, increasing their power density, and reducing the cost of such solutions.

Jean-Baptiste Eyméoud, President of Alstom France, commented: “Alstom has made sustainable mobility one of the pillars of its strategic plan ‘Alstom in Motion 2025’. Our ambition is to accelerate the adoption of hydrogen in the rail industry and to develop innovative solutions in the context of the greening of heavy mobility, including regional trains, shunting locomotives, and freight locomotives. To develop a hydrogen ecosystem, particularly in France, we need to mobilise the public authorities and all the players in this sector. As in many fields, we are innovating with structuring partnerships: SNAM, Plastic Omnium, Hynamics, Eversholt and now Liebherr.”

Following the acquisition in April 2020 of Helion Hydrogen Power (an innovation start-up specialising in high-powered fuel cells, based in Aix-en-Provence), Alstom has now chosen to collaborate with the Liebherr group, which has a strong presence in the South-West of France.