Testing of Upgraded Hydrogen-Powered Freight Locomotive

Irish Rail is set to test Europe’s first upgraded hydrogen-powered freight locomotive in collaboration with DIGAS, using a more environmentally friendly renewable fuel source, as reported by the railway portal Railway Supply.

Irish Rail and DIGAS have signed a contract to retrofit a diesel-powered freight locomotive with a hydrogen-powered engine as a proof of concept.

The €1.5 million project aims to contribute to decarbonizing Irish Rail’s diesel locomotive operations, help the company achieve its sustainability goals, improve competitiveness, and reduce carbon emissions.

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Under the agreement, Irish Rail will provide a Class 071 diesel locomotive for retrofitting and offer workshops for assembly, testing, and commissioning.

DIGAS will supply and install the hydrogen internal combustion engine (H2 ICE) retrofit kit to convert the diesel locomotive into a hydrogen-powered one.

This conversion will allow the locomotive to run on renewable fuel with zero emissions instead of diesel.

As part of the agreement, the two companies will exchange technical and commercial information necessary for DIGAS to design, manufacture, install, and support the deployment of the hydrogen conversion kit, enabling Irish Rail to properly test the upgraded locomotive.

Unlike other hydrogen projects in the rail sector where hydrogen is used to power locomotives through fuel cells or specially made hydrogen engines, this project demonstrates a unique approach where hydrogen will be used in the locomotive’s existing internal combustion engine.

This innovative development requests minimal locomotive configuration changes.

If successful, the project will showcase a more practical and cost-effective way to decarbonize and operate existing diesel locomotive fleets with hydrogen engines.

The project is currently in the development phase, with two testing stages planned for 2024 and 2025.

The first phase will focus on static locomotive testing to validate power and emissions.

The second phase, beginning in 2025, will involve on-track operational testing of the locomotive.

All projects and testing standards will be subject to approval by the Commission for Railway Regulation (CRR).

Photo: Irish Rail

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