Ballard Energy Programs obtained an order for extra gas cell engines from Canadian Pacific Kansas Metropolis (CPKC). These eighteen, 200 kW gas cell engines (3.6 MW complete) are deliberate for supply in 2023 and can help the growth of CPKC’s Hydrogen Locomotive Program.
Over the previous two years, Ballard has provided CPKC with 20 gas cell engines to be used in three several types of locomotives, with mixed gas cell energy of 4MW. These locomotives have been present process subject testing in 2022 and early 2023 with profitable checks, proving the capabilities of Ballard’s hydrogen gas cell expertise in locomotive purposes.
Additional improvement on vary throughout temperature variations, heavy hauling, high-quality tuning auxiliary load to keep away from waste, elevated variety of hours on present and extra models will help continued technological evolution. The success of those trials, mixed with the necessity to obtain CPKC’s emissions objectives, has resulted within the important growth of the unique hydrogen locomotive program.
Our hydrogen locomotive program has the potential to considerably cut back greenhouse gasoline emissions from locomotive operations, supporting the transition to a lower-carbon future within the freight rail sector.
—Dr Kyle Mulligan, AVP Operations Expertise
CPKC is the mixture of two historic railways: Canadian Pacific (CP) and Kansas Metropolis Southern (KCS). In the present day, CPKC is the primary and solely transnational rail community in North America. CPKC strikes important items throughout a 20,000-mile community to help financial development all through Canada, the US and Mexico.
In June, CPKC and CSX Company introduced their intent to enter right into a three way partnership for the constructing and deployment of hydrogen locomotive conversion kits for diesel electrical locomotives.
As an preliminary step within the collaboration, CSX plans to transform one among its diesel locomotives utilizing a hydrogen conversion equipment developed by CPKC. The conversion work shall be completed at CSX’s Huntington, West Virginia locomotive store.
In December 2020, Canadian Pacific (CP) introduced plans to develop North America’s first line-haul hydrogen-powered locomotive by retrofitting a diesel freight locomotive with hydrogen gas cells and battery expertise to drive the locomotive’s electrical traction motors. The prototype, designed and constructed by in-house CP engineers, made its first motion below its personal energy in late 2021. By the top of 2022, the locomotive had made its first income strikes and now has collected greater than 1,000 miles of testing in income service.
CPKC has deployed a second hydrogen locomotive for testing in terminal operations, a program growth supported by funding awarded by Emissions Discount Alberta and the Authorities of Canada Low Carbon Economic system Fund. The second hydrogen locomotive is predicted to enter service later in 2023.