It’s been a while since I’ve talked about hydrail (hydrogen railway) technology. But, talked about or not hydrogen trains keep on rolling (as I was graciously reminded by Hydrail.org Chairman Stan Thompson). In fact, the Fourth International Hydrail Conference is rolling right into Valencia, Spain on June 9, 2008 to discuss advances in fuel cell locomotive technology and infrastructure building.
The hydrail conference is being hosted by the Appalachian State University Energy Center, NTDA Energía and the Hydrogen Economy Advancement Team (HEAT). The countries of Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Spain, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States will be participating.
Fuel cell maker Ballard and hydrogen gas manufacturer Air Products will also be on hand to talk about successes over the past year along with challenges ahead for the hydrail industry. Greg Ayres from the U. S. Department of Transportation will give the keynote address and talk about hydrogen streetcar, commuter rail, monorail and light rail technology plus how fuel cell trains could be more cost effective than electrified trains.
The map on this page is from the Hydrail.org website and shows the countries that are currently participating in hydrogen rail projects. So take a plane, then ride a train to get to the Fourth International Hydrail Conference in Valencia, Spain and you, too can keep the momentum rolling.