The heart of the first hydrogen trains is in Vado Ligure

 

On January 23rd, the first Italian hydrogen train was delivered to Rovato, in the province of Brescia. It is part of a batch of 14 trains, purchased thanks to funding from the Lombardy Region, including resources from the PNRR, all developed and produced in the Italian plants of the German manufacturer Alstom. Specifically, the “power car,” or the “heart” of the train, was built at the Vado Ligure site.

 

The new Coradia Stream H™ trains use hydrogen to generate electricity, avoiding CO2 emissions while maintaining the comfort of electric trains. With 240 seats and a range of over 600 km, these trains innovate in clean energy conversion, energy storage, and intelligent energy management. The energy is produced in the central “power car,” where hydrogen combines with oxygen in fuel cells to generate electricity. Lithium-ion batteries store energy to support the fuel cells during acceleration.

 

The trains were entirely developed and produced in Alstom’s Italian plants: Savigliano handled development, certification, production, and testing; Vado Ligure assembled the “power car”; Sesto San Giovanni supplied the components; Bologna developed the signaling system. The project is funded by the European Union through the Ipcei Hydrogen 1 program.

 

The first train arrived at the Rovato site, built by Ferrovienord, the first for the maintenance and refueling of hydrogen trains. The train will undergo further testing before entering commercial service by the first half of 2026, after all necessary authorizations.