Researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) will work with Wabtec, a leading manufacturer of freight locomotives, to develop the hardware and control strategies for a single-cylinder, dual-fuel engine to demonstrate the viability of using alternative fuels for locomotives.

The research focuses on zero-carbon hydrogen and other low-carbon fuels as viable alternatives to diesel for the rail industry. The team’s goal is to reduce carbon emissions from the roughly 25,000 locomotives already in use in North America.

Researchers from the multidisciplinary team kicked off the project and celebrated the installation of rail technology company Wabtec’s single-cylinder dual-fuel locomotive engine in the National Transportation Research Center, a DOE-designated user facility located at ORNL, during an event on 9 November.

Both laboratories have entered into cooperative research and development agreements with Wabtec, a leading manufacturer of freight locomotives. The Argonne and Wabtec agreement also includes Convergent Science, Inc., a software developer. The project will run for four years.

Hydrogen as fuel has many advantages, but locomotive engines must be modified to ensure safe, efficient and clean operation. The team will develop hardware and control strategies for the engine, which will run on hydrogen and diesel fuel to demonstrate the viability of using alternative fuels.

Josh Pihl, an ORNL distinguished researcher and group leader for applied catalysis and emissions research said the project aligns with the goals of DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Office to use low-carbon fuels in hard-to-electrify transportation sectors.

While electrifying vehicles is an effective strategy in reducing carbon emissions from some parts of the transportation sector, railways are considered more difficult because of the high cost of building a single coordinated electrified rail system across North America. Each year, the North American rail fleet emits approximately 87.6 billion pounds of carbon dioxide.

To reduce carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050, we must make dramatic improvements in energy efficiency and emissions in the overall transportation system, including railways. Hydrogen has been used in light-duty combustion engines. However, hydrogen is a newer area of research in railway applications.

—Muhsin Ameen, Argonne senior research scientist

The research team is developing combustion technology to power the next generation of trains with up to 100% hydrogen and other low-carbon fuels. The team’s goal is to design train engines that will deliver the same power, range and cost-effectiveness as current diesel technology.

In the project’s first phase, the ORNL team will work on hardware changes for retrofitting locomotives. Its goal is to reduce CO₂ emissions from the roughly 25,000 locomotives already in use in North America. Locomotives have a service life of more than 30 years, so replacing the entire fleet would take decades.

During the second phase of the project, ORNL and Wabtec will continue to alter the engine hardware to increase the amount of hydrogen that can be used. The team aims to replace completely diesel with hydrogen or low-carbon fuels in new locomotives.

At the same time, Argonne will leverage more than a decade of experience in modeling hydrogen injection and combustion to create a modeling framework to study combustion and emission control technologies used in hydrogen combustion engines. Experts in fuel injection, kinetics and combustion modeling, design optimization, high-performance computing and machine learning will take the project from start to finish.

Scientists are using Argonne’s high-performance computers to develop simulation software. This tool will help predict the behavior of combustion engines as operating conditions change and hardware is modified.

Each diesel-powered locomotive that is converted to a zero- or low-carbon energy source is anticipated to save up to 5.6 million pounds of carbon dioxide per year.

In addition to Pihl, the ORNL team includes research engineers Dean Edwards and Eric Nafziger and research mechanic Steve Whitted.

Along with Ameen, the Argonne team includes group leader and principal research scientist Riccardo Scarcelli, postdoctoral fellow Samuel Kazmouz and principal engine research scientist Christopher Powell.

The project is funded by the Vehicle Technologies Office under DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and by Wabtec. In-kind contributions are provided by Wabtec and Convergent Science, Inc. The USDepartment of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration is also funding related research on safe use of hydrogen in locomotive engines.