East Japan Railway Company is set to begin testing on the first ever fuel cell hybrid train in the world. Running on hydrogen and emitting only water, the train doesn't need to get any juice from wires or electrified tracks and can get moving at up to 60 MPH for 30 to 60 miles. They don't plan on replacing regular trains with the new fuel cell hybrids for another decade or two due to the high cost of the fuel cells and the limited distance they can travel before needing a refill, however. The Railway Technical Research Institute of Japan is developing a hybrid train of their own that features an auxiliary battery that recharges from the energy generated by the braking of the train, using that energy then for acceleration or when the fuel cell isn't cutting it. All interesting stuff, and any way to make public transportation more environmentally friendly is A-OK by us. Keep up the good work, dudes. — Adam Frucci

Via Pink Tentacle