As a result of the MoU, a dedicated team has been set up to manage the technical and commercial development of innovative and competitive hydrogen onboard storage.
The MoU will enable the two partners, following development projects which have already started, to launch hydrogen storage solutions on the market for regional trains in France and Italy, starting in 2022.
Thierry Best, chief commercial officer at Alstom, said, “The emergence of a strong hydrogen ecosystem is of critical importance for driving the development of hydrogen rail as a zero emissions alternative for regional rail. The planned combination of Plastic Omnium’s expertise in hydrogen storage solutions and our expertise in hydrogen trains is in this regard an important milestone to build an innovative and strong hydro rail value chain.”
Christian Kopp CEO of Plastic Omnium Clean Energy Systems division added, “Our partnership with Alstom aims to develop high-performance hydrogen solutions capable of tackling the sustainability challenges facing railway transportation. It is another step on the path toward carbon-free mobility and further confirmation of our Group’s expertise in hydrogen solutions and its potential for growth as it reaches out to a new customer base.”