Alstom plans to trial hydrogen train in Saudi Arabia this year – top official

Alstom plans to trial hydrogen train in Saudi Arabia this year – top official

Alstom, the France-based global rail transportation giant, is planning to introduce its hydrogen train to Saudi Arabia this year, according to a senior company official.

Alstom's GCC Managing Director Tamer Salama told Zawya Projects that the company is in talks to bring its hydrogen train to the Kingdom before the year's end.

"We are aiming to bring our hydrogen train to Saudi Arabia before the year's end, most likely during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference," he stated during an interview at the Middle East Rail event in Abu Dhabi last week.

The FII conference, recognised as the largest international investment forum in the Middle East, is scheduled in Riyadh in October 2023.

"We are currently seeking a partner to provide the hydrogen. We are engaged in discussions with several sources fully supporting the initiative," he added.

In September 2022, the company signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Saudi Railway Company (SAR) to develop hydrogen train solutions tailored to Saudi Arabia.

Salama underlined that Alstom's hydrogen train is a "proven technology" with commercial services underway in Germany (since 2018). He also disclosed that commercial operations would begin soon in Italy, France and Denmark.

The Alstom executive highlighted the expected increase in hydrogen availability in the