CHINA’s first hydrogen-electric hybrid locomotive entered service recently on the Jinzhou-Baiyinhua Railway in Inner Mongolia.
The unit was built by CRRC Datong and State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) and manufacturing concluded in February 2021. The 80km/h locomotive is built entirely from Chinese-sourced components and can operate continuously for 24.5 hours with a full load of hydrogen, which fuels the hydrogen fuel cell. The unit is used for shunting as well as regular operations on the railway and has a traction load of 5000 tonnes.
CRRC says the locomotive is reducing emissions by 80kg per 1000 tonne-km compared with a comparable diesel locomotive. Future full deployment of a hydrogen locomotive fleet on the Jinzhou-Baiyinhua Railway will reduce emissions by 96,000 tonnes per year.
