USA: Californian short line Sierra Northern Railway has completed testing of a hydrogen fuel cell shunting locomotive, and says its technology is suitable for widespread commercialisation ‘in the immediate future’.
The successful trial ‘marks another major milestone in Sierra’s mission to bring hydrogen-powered zero emission switcher locomotives within commercial reach for the short line industry in California and around the world’, SNR President Kennan H Beard III told the American Short Line & Regional Railroad Association conference in Denver on April 8. ’Sierra’s successful test proves that short lines can retire pre-tier 0 to tier 4 diesel locomotives and replace them with hydrogen-powered zero emission switcher locomotives.’
SNR said short line and shunting activities account for a significant share of total locomotive energy use in California, making them an ‘excellent testbed’ for decarbonisation technology.
Design, integration and demonstration of the loco based on a RailPower genset donor was funded through a $4m grant from the California Energy Commission. Project partners include GTI Energy, Velocity Strategies, Railpower Tech, WHA International, OptiFuel Systems, Ballard Power Systems, UC Riverside and Valley Vision.
SNR’s sister company Sierra Energy Corp has developed proprietary gasification technology that uses heat, steam and oxygen to break down waste to produce hydrogen.
Earlier this year SNR acquired the assets of diesel-battery and genset shunting locomotive supplier RailPower with a view to using its proven designs as a basis for hydrogen locomotives.
SNR is to build three more hydrogen shunting locos by Q4 2027 in a $19·5m project using funding awarded through a public-private partnership with the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District.
It hopes to convert its entire fleet to hydrogen, and envisages that its technology could replace all 260+ shunting locos in California.
