Green hydrogen as a tool for reviving areas affected by depopulation, where the economic crisis is also being felt as a result of the seismic events of 2009, 2016 and 2017. This is the objective of the memorandum of understanding recently signed by Iberdrola with Aecom, Ancitel energia e ambiente and Cinque international, through which the technology of the future is being leveraged to recover historic Apennine railway lines.

The intervention will target a partially non-electrified line

The conversion project concerns the backbone line connecting Sansepolcro, in the province of Arezzo, to Sulmona (L'Aquila): this is a communication line over 300 kilometres long that crosses Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio and Abruzzo, passing through Perugia, Terni and Rieti. A partially non-electrified line served by diesel trains that have reached the end of their working lives: by switching to hydrogen-powered traction, costs will be drastically reduced compared with conventional electrification, and innovation and development will be brought to areas at risk of depopulation.

The protocol also includes a technical feasibility assessment for the development of the hydrogen-powered Ferrovia dei due mari cross-country line, which is intended to connect Fiumicino airport and Rome to San Benedetto del Tronto via Rieti, Amatrice and Ascoli Piceno: in this way, Rome would become the first capital in the world served by hydrogen trains.

Hydrogen as a lever for economic recovery

The development project is centred on the use of hydrogen-electric trains as a lever to attract productive investment to the territories affected by the seismic events of recent years, where economic difficulties have been further compounded by the pandemic emergency. At the heart of the initiative is the adoption of new technologies in the energy and environmental fields, with a particular role assigned to hydrogen produced from new renewable sources. The conversion initiatives form part of the integrated and sustainable plan for the revival of the central Apennines promoted by Aecom, Ancitel energia e ambiente and Cinque international.

"We are proud," explains Lorenzo Costantini, Iberdrola's country manager for Italy, "to place our expertise at the service of this ambitious project which, in addition to having a significant environmental impact, also aims to deliver a meaningful economic and social benefit in support of territories that have been severely hit by seismic events in recent years." The Sansepolcro–Sulmona new railway project has already cleared several milestones: in 2019 it was presented to the hydrogen working group of the Ministry of Economic Development; in 2020, following a pre-feasibility study coordinated by the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa, a technical working group was set up at the Mise with the participation of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, the Fs group and Rfi. In December 2020, the process of gathering support from local communities began, with the aim of removing any bureaucratic and administrative obstacles. Last July, finally, the project passed the pre-selection phase by the European Commission within the framework of the European clean hydrogen alliance.