Technology @lemmy.zip Lee Duna @lemmy.nz 5 mo. ago

Swiss hydrogen-powered train sets 1741-mile record for nonstop travel

interestingengineering.com Swiss hydrogen-powered train sets 1741-mile record for nonstop travel - Interesting Engineering

The record attempt took place over 46 hours at a test track in Colorado where Stadler's hydrogen-powered train is being tested.

62 comments

The cost isn’t what they are demonstrating here. It’s the feasibility of the tech. Electric cars had to pass the feasibility test before anyone was going to pay the high new tech prices. I think Tesla’s were 100k to begin with? The range was about the same or less than a gas car but I can’t imagine it being successful if it only had a 150mile range.

Once people think the tech is good enough they will be hoping the price comes down so everyone can use it not just rich people
- This isn’t just a feasibility demonstrator, it’s the first unit of a four unit order that’s supposed to enter service this year. The testing in Colorado is for federal certification to use the train in revenue service on railroads in the U.S. Setting a Guinness World Record was just a side effort for publicity and to show the full capabilities of the system.
- This is already a solved problem.
For those who are curious, they did this at the Transportation Technology Center near Pueblo acorrding to this article.
Snowpiercer beta program started
I am not familiar with the project. Why does it hsve an American flag on it? Was it funded in part by US or something?
Save the hydrogen for better suited use-cases - trains are easily electrified and should be running on catenaries.
- For regional train lines/freight lines full electrification isn't feasible due to the length of track, diesels still rule the train world because of this
  
  I honestly think this is just cheaping out, and I bet electrification will pay off on a long enough horizon.
  
  Fwiw, I think basically all of Sweden where I live is electrified - 80% of the rails, with the 20% principally being a freight line in the far north used for the purposes of transporting ore from the mines.
These stories almost never mention fuel used, or fuel cost, in case someone does the math and figures out just how expensive these vehicles are to run.
- Because that's not the point, hydrogen is the most abundant fuel we have access to. The idea that we shouldn't be using it is just dumb. It's what's more than likely going to fuel our ships to other planets eventually. It's one of the reasons finding water on planets and moons is a big deal. The thought from the battery crew that we shouldn't pursue hydrogen is just stupid.
  
  hydrogen is not a fuel. You have to make it, and you always get less energy out than you put into doing so.
  
  It's a very inefficient battery. On a vehicle that has no weight concerns.
  
  We did pursue it. Batteries won for common use cases. There may yet be niches where it's useful, but they'll be the exception.
  
  Yeah, but it's attached to other molecules, and it's really hard to separate the stuff.
  
  Hydrogen is a really shitty and inefficient battery, it would be cheaper, easier, and more efficient to just put batteries on the train.
- You can lookup the industrial cost of hydrogen in bulk pretty easy. Stop complaining and get some work done.
  
  Can you now? How much does hydrogen in industrial quantities cost? Because, believe me, I've tried to find this information.
  
  I can tell you the pump price in California though.

You've viewed 62 comments.