North American railway company Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) has entered its first high-power hydrogen-powered locomotive into mainline service.
Operating out of Golden, British Columbia, the retrofitted AC4400CW locomotive is carrying coal mined by Elk Valley Resources. Last October, the company completed a test run of the application between Golden and Elk Valley Resources’ Sparwood mine.
CPKC’s CP1201 locomotive completed its first refuelling on March 6 at the new fixed locomotive fuelling station, which is reportedly the first to be placed in service outside of Alberta on CPKC’s network.
Last November, the company completed the construction of two hydrogen production and refuelling facilities in Calgary and Edmonton to support its hydrogen-powered locomotive network.
In a post on social media, CPKC said, “CP1201 has resumed its runs in bulk service in collaboration with Elk Valley Resources, as we continue to test its performance in the most challenging, real-world operating conditions.”
CPKC’s locomotives harness hydrogen power using fuel cells from Ballard Power Systems, a company facing industry challenges. In 2023, the railway ordered 40 fuel cells, each with a 200kW capacity.
Looking ahead to the remainder of 2025, CPKC has plans to double its hydrogen-powered test fleet size, with the deployment of three locomotives and a tender car.
Members of the hydrogen industry have suggested that it will particularly challenging to electrify North American freight rail lines due to the size of the network.
Kaden Killpack, Commercial Project Manager at European train manufacturer Stadler, said, “Less than 1% of our lines have overhead power. [Therefore], hydrogen makes a lot of sense.
“In Europe, if you’re looking to go zero emission, you can use an overhead power train which is already zero emissions. In the US, we’re looking at the whole alignment, which is where hydrogen will be big because it gives us a good amount of specific energy to cover long distances.”
Stadler’s leap into the US hydrogen rail market
While the US boasts one of the largest train networks in the world, passenger rail plays a much smaller part than other means of transport.
Holding an extensive freight rail network, which the US relies heavily on for bulk transportation, the passenger rail sector plays second fiddle due to interstate highway systems and aviation transport.
“Cargo is king” in the US, according to European train manufacturer Stadler’s Commercial Project Manager, Kaden Killpack, who is spearheading the development and deployment of the Swiss firm’s hydrogen-powered Fast Light Intercity and Regional Train (FLIRT) H2 passenger train.
The US Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has set goals to decarbonise the country’s rail transport sector and has offered grant programmes to ensure the safety of these new technologies, either battery or hydrogen.
It’s requested that manufacturers, owners and operators along the national rail network reach Net Zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, as part of its Climate and Sustainability Programme.
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