© DB AG / Faruk Hosseini

Hydropower gets us moving

We are the largest consumer of green electricity in Germany and are increasing our commitment to the environment day by day. The share of renewable energy in DB´s traction current mix already comes to 68 percent. The target for 2030 is 80 percent. By 2038 we aim to make our traction power 100 percent green.

We generate a big share of our green electricity from hydropower, sourcing it for the most part from the many hydroelectric plants located throughout Germany. We even operate one of them ourselves. The Saalach power plant in Bad Reichenhall was commissioned in 1914 to generate traction current and is now operated by DB Energie. So our trains were already running on climate-friendly renewable power over 100 years ago, long before the term "renewable power" had even been invented.

Since the beginning of 2023, we are using more green power from the hydroelectric plant at Egglfing-Obernberg on the border between Bavaria and Austria. The contract with Verbund AG will run for five years. 

We are also using more green power from the hydroelectric plant at Egglfing-Obernberg on the border between Bavaria and Austria.

In addition, since 2023, we are also buying hydropower from Norwegian company Statkraft's power plant in Mågeli. The power will be transported using the Nordlink North Sea cable, which connects the electricity grids of Germany and Norway. This will make our traction current mix even greener for the next ten years.