A cost-benefit analysis of decarbonizing long-haul rail freight with hydrogen[Analyse coûts-bénéfices de la décarbonation du fret ferroviaire longue distance par l'hydrogène]

At the time of a global energy transition, rail has emerged as one of the cornerstones of green mobility but it is still responsible for the emission of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) and air pollutants. Today, given that 56% of all track-kilometers are non-electrified, 57% of the locomotives are diesel-powered and over 75% of them are used for freight (UNIFE, 2022). Even if electrification is progressing worldwide, there are still, for economic, technical and safety reasons, portions that are not electrified. As a result, today, 80% of diesel freight train-kilometers in France are done under catenaries (Simian and al., 2018). An environmental nonsense that leads to avoidable emissions. Although the literature on transportation costs is abundant (Anupriya, 2020), the sub-theme of rail, and more specifically of decarbonized rail alternatives, is still understudied. This research aims to demonstrate the interest of hydrogen for long distance rail freight through a Cost- Benefit Analysis (CBA) on real use cases. We propose an innovative method to (1) calculate the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in Net Present Value (NPV) over the lifetime of the Rolling Stock (RS) including evolution scenarios; (2) establish an evaluation of the emissions balance. The uniqueness of our approach lies in the fact that we compare the polluting solution and the decarbonized hydrogen alternative via the economic equation and the environmental balance, often treated separately even though the two are interdependent. We believe that this approach, applied in this case to a hydrogen solution, will allow for an effective comparison of carbon-free rail alternatives for a given mission and provide concrete answers to decision-makers within the framework of public policies. This economic approach, while initially intended for rail, could be applied to other modes of transportation.