Engineering students and staff at the University of
Birmingham have designed and built a prototype hydrogen powered locomotive, the
first of its kind to operate in the UK.
This narrow gauge locomotive is a hybrid design, combining a
hydrogen fuel cell and lead acid batteries similar to the ones used in cars.
The fuel cell is used both to power the permanent magnet electric motors and to
charge the batteries, with the batteries helping to meet the peak power demands
when accelerating under load.