Deutsche Bahn is pressing on full steam ahead with its plans to become climate-neutral by 2040; the biggest railway company in Germany has just signed a deal to source electricity from a hydropower plant in southern Norway. 

Deutsche Bahn strikes deal with Norwegian hydropower company

“10 years earlier than previously planned, Deutsche Bahn will be completely climate-neutral by 2040,” said DB boss Richard Lutz this week, announcing the 10-year deal with Norwegian energy company Statkraft.

Deutsche Bahn’s demand for renewable energy can no longer be covered by green electricity produced in Germany alone, he told AFP, and so signing deals with companies further afield is of strategic importance, “for both partners and for climate protection.”

The electricity will be transported from the hydropower plant in southern Norway via Nordlink, the 632-kilometre undersea cable that was officially opened in May 2021. With a capacity of 1.400 megawatts, the cable facilitates the transportation of hydropower from Norway to Germany and of wind power from Germany back to Norway, thus enabling the balancing out of fluctuations in the power grid, which can be especially problematic when it comes to renewable energy sources. 

All DB trains to be powered by renewable energy by 2038

The 190 gigawatt hours of electricity Deutsche Bahn is getting from Norway will cover the energy requirements of its 40.000 trains for about a week, the group said. DB has signed two additional contracts with German energy suppliers in the Black Forest and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Altogether, the new agreements should save around 246.000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. 

Every year, DB needs a total of 10 terawatt hours (10 billion kilowatt hours) to power its trains. By 2038, the group wants to cover all of its requirements with renewable energies. An interim target of 80 percent has been set for 2030. The share is currently a good 61 percent; in 2014 it was 42 percent.