Its official name is “Coradia iLint,” but it’s already being known by its alias, the “hydrail”: a hydrogen-powered, zero-emissions passenger train able to travel 500 miles per day at a speed up to 87 mph, thanks to (huge!) lithium batteries that get their energy from a hydrogen tank. This is basically the same kind of technology NASA has used to propel rockets into space since the 70s, according to The Independent: the hydrogen is burned with oxygen, producing both energy and water. That is, simply, steam. Zero emissions.
Fourteen of these trains will be installed in Germany this year, and will open to the public in December.
And today we celebrate...