Alstom absorbs Cummins rail hydrogen unit as European fuel-cell retreat accelerates

Alstom has taken the rail hydrogen fuel-cell business of Cummins in-house, concluding a deal that underscores how Europe's flagship alternative-traction programme is shifting from a growth story to a maintenance commitment.

The French train manufacturer confirmed on 2 April that it had acquired the engineering, product and support operations supplying fuel cells for its Coradia iLint trains, including the Herten assembly site in north-west Germany and the Hydrogenics entity that Cummins itself bought for $290m in 2019. Neither party disclosed the transaction value.

The move follows the US engine maker's decision in February to halt new sales in its electrolyser unit after booking $458m of charges in its 2025 financial year, citing weak customer demand and wavering subsidy support. Cummins's Accelera-branded fuel cells have also powered pilot schemes for Austria's ÖBB, underlining the breadth of the technology's footprint across central European networks.

Bringing the capability in house allows Alstom to de-risk its installed fleets in Germany, Italy and France, where operators have signed long-term contracts predicated on fuel-cell availability. Danny Di Perna, Alstom's chief operating officer, framed the transaction in terms of securing reliability and maintenance for the installed fleet and completing contracted programmes rather than pursuing new commercial ground, language that industry analysts have read as defensive.

With battery-electric rolling stock and partial overhead electrification gaining traction, the commercial case for hydrogen locomotives has narrowed sharply over the past eighteen months, leaving Alstom as the only major manufacturer still actively marketing the technology to European operators.

The deal also lands three weeks into the tenure of Martin Sion, who succeeded Henri Poupart-Lafarge as Alstom chief executive on 1 April. Sion inherits a hydrogen portfolio whose forward economics rest less on new European orders than on delivering contracted trains and keeping the existing fleet running.