PKP Power Engineering has issued a tender for the supply of components for a hydrogen-based energy storage solution as the company seeks to source all electricity required for Polish railways from renewable sources.
The hydrogen energy storage solution concept has been developed jointly by PKP Power Engineering specialists and scientists at the University of Zuelona Góra. According to the tender, the hydrogen power system will work in tandem with a photovoltaic installation under construction at the Garbce power substation, which is described by PKP Power Engineering as a “traction power substation of the future.”
PKP Power Engineering says it will produce entirely green hydrogen at the site, using electrolysis powered by solar energy, as a fuel for future hydrogen trains used on the Polish network.
“We hope that the market of hydrogen suppliers, which is just at its initial development stage in Poland, will respond to our invitation,” says Mr Piotr Obrycki, director of research and development at PKP. “We encourage all interested parties to participate in the announced tender procedure.”
The company is also in the process of developing a traction energy storage solution at the Garbce site, which is located 50km from Wroclaw and is described as an energy reservoir. The site is capable of powering a single train travelling at 160km/h from four battery containers equipped with 4240 lithium-ion cells.
An interview with PKP Energetyka CEO, Mr Wojciech Orzech, discussing Poland's Green Railway Programme will appear in the March 2022 edition of IRJ.
