PESA's Certified Hydrogen Shunting Loco Unveiled

Locomotive Approved For European Market

InnoTrans 2022 in Berlin saw the introduction of PESA's hydrogen shunting locomotive. It's the first one in Europe to get approval and certification. PESA is Poland's biggest manufacturer of rolling stock, and they're the first Polish company to use fuel cell drives in rail vehicles.

Ballard Fuel Cells Power Locomotive

The hydrogen shunting locomotive is a prototype. It has four axles and uses two 85 kW fuel cells from Ballard Power Systems. It also has regenerative braking that charges the traction batteries. The hydrogen tanks can hold 175kg and only need refuelling once for a 24-hour shunting operation.

Shunting locomotives are commonly used for sorting trains in shunting yards. They're also called switchers. Over 6,000 shunters are in use only in Europe for railway operations.

Trains mostly run on diesel fuel now. But, train yards are close to cities and the emissions from them are not good. PESA wants to focus on making trains with less emissions.

PESA's H2 Range Begins With SM42-6Dn Hydrogen Shunting Locomotive

PESA worked on new train projects for three years. They made a special train called the SM42-6Dn. This train uses hydrogen, which is a new energy source. PESA wants to use this technology in all their future projects.

Ballard's fuel cell design in the locomotive's drivetrain is modular. This design improves fuel efficiency, resilience, and performance. The power unit of the fuel cell won't degrade because of it. In addition, the fuel cell can be used for over 30,000 hours of operation without failing.

Ballard's fuel cell module is strong and long-lasting. PESA's hydrogen locomotive uses it. Ballard has a lot of market experience. They make fuel cells for new vehicles. They make sure their customers are happy. Oben Uluc is a director for sales and commercial stuff in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He said this in a blog on Ballard's website.

In August 2022, the SM42-6Dn locomotive did some testing which went well. In December, it finished all the certification testing from the Railway Institute. Later, there was some final testing needed and a special station was built in partnership with PKN ORLEN. This made sure all the tests could happen properly on an experimental track in Plock, Poland.

PESA made sure their approach involved providing a vehicle that is ready to sell and has fueling infrastructure for hydrogen. PESA is partnering with PKN ORLEN to implement the SM42-6Dn hydrogen shunting locomotive this year's first quarter. The fueling station is a part of the package they are offering.

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