Ballard receives follow-on order from CPKC Rail for 12 additional fuel cell engines
05 February 2024
Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) rail recently awarded Ballard an additional order of 12 fuel cell engines, delivered in 2024. The 200kW FCwave engines will support the expansion of CPKC’s new fleet of hydrogen-powered locomotives planned for regular switching and local freight service applications in Alberta, Canada.
To date, Ballard has supplied CPKC with 50 fuel cell engines for use in its hydrogen locomotives, with combined fuel cell power of 10MW. (Earlier post.) The additional locomotives are expected to enter service by the end of this year.
Since 2021, Ballard has supplied CPKC with fuel cell engines for use in three different types of locomotives, which have undergone subsequent and successful field testing, proving the capabilities of Ballard’s hydrogen fuel cell technology in locomotive applications.
Further development on range across temperature variations, heavy hauling, fine tuning auxiliary load to avoid waste, and increased number of hours on current and additional units will support continued technological evolution.
The success of these trials, combined with the need to achieve CPKC’s emissions goals, has resulted in the significant expansion of the original hydrogen locomotive program.
' The success of these trials, combined with the need to achieve CPKC’s emissions goals, has resulted in the significant expansion of the original hydrogen locomotive program.'
Good to hear.
Those who have sought to dismiss the technology ab initio on often largely theoretical sweeping grounds have in my view ignored one of the fundamental principles.
Suck it and see,
Posted by: Davemart | 05 February 2024 at 01:20 AM
I wonder if these locomotives will be used to transport oil and oil-production machinery. It's Alberta, after all, that's their main industry.
H2 will probably be successful for Canada's distant northern freight lines. Everything is more expensive up north, especially diesel (because refineries are located much farther south), but hydrogen can be produced locally, and it doesn't need to be refined.
Posted by: Bernard | 05 February 2024 at 08:09 AM
Make the hydrogen where you use it you don't have to transport it I've been saying that for years and years makes sense.
Posted by: SJC | 07 February 2024 at 09:08 PM