Alina Oprea • 18 September, 2023 at 4:32 PM
Orlen is testing the first hydrogen locomotive in Poland which it has purchased from PESA Bydgoszcz. This vehicle travelled from Gdynia to Hel for the first time. The SM42-6Dn shunting locomotive has traction parameters similar to diesel locomotives, but is completely emission-free, according to 247newsagency.com.
“The locomotive's tanks can be loaded with 175 kg of hydrogen, which allows for 24-hour operation. The traction system consists of 2 85kW cells, batteries, and 4 engines”, says Mariusz Marszałkowski, editor-in-chief of Polon.pl.
“We arrived in Hel. The hydrogen locomotive @pesabydgoszcz managed – it was 90 km/h on the route”, says Jakub Rösler from the TransportPubliczny and Rynek Kolejowy websites.
Polish company PESA received permission from the president of the Office of Rail Transport to operate the first hydrogen locomotive relatively recently, in June this year. As Ignacy Góra, President of UTK, emphasized, this event is also important because currently, neither Polish nor European regulations specify the requirements for hydrogen propulsion in railway vehicles.
The office hopes that thanks to this decision, the number of hydrogen vehicles on the tracks will increase, which will be an environmentally friendly change (more information in our material:).
According to the strategy, by 2030 Orlen is to allocate PLN 7.4 billion for investments in hydrogen technologies based on renewable energy sources and technologies for processing municipal waste into hydrogen.
“Thanks to this investment, we will gain the competencies needed to prepare a comprehensive offer for the supply of hydrogen fuel for the railway market. At the same time, we are investing in the development of zero-emission public transport by building further publicly available hydrogen refuelling stations in Poland and abroad,” said Orlen President Daniel Obajtek.
Ultimately, the hydrogen-powered shunting locomotive will operate on the siding of the Production Plant in Płock. The contract concluded between Orlen and PESA Bydgoszcz covers a four-year service package, which will include, among others: standard inspections and possible repairs.
The capacity of the locomotive's tanks is more than five times larger than in hydrogen-powered buses and amounts to 175 kilograms.
Orlen and Lotos Kolej plan to ultimately hydrogenize the locomotive fleet at the Production Plant in Płock, as well as in other locations. In the longer term, the company focuses on the development of the hydrogen sales market and the construction of a network of stations for refuelling railway vehicles with hydrogen fuel. In addition, the company plans to develop a network of publicly available hydrogen refuelling stations in Poland and abroad.
In 2021, an automotive-quality hydrogen production hub was launched, from which hydrogen fuel is supplied to a pilot hydrogen refuelling station in Krakow, where hydrogen buses from various manufacturers are tested. Drivers in Poland will be able to refuel their cars with hydrogen at stations in Poznań and Katowice this year. Further ORLEN hydrogen stations in Bielsko-Biała, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Wałbrzych, Kraków, Włocławek, Gdynia, Piła and Warsaw will be put into operation by mid-2025.