North American rail companies continue hydrogen feasibility testing - powered by Ballard

Hydrogen-powered rail testing in North America with two major industry players has delivered excellent results and lays solid foundation for further zero-emission development in the sector. The locomotives are powered by Ballard's FCwave™ 200kW fuel cell modules.

Since 2021, Ballard has been supplying fuel cells to power three different types of locomotives for Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) as part of the expansion of the company’s hydrogen locomotive program. Now supplying 50 FCwave™ 200kW fuel cell modules for use in the locomotives, with a combined power wattage of 10MW, the locomotives are undergoing additional field tests to underline the commercial readiness of hydrogen technology in rail.

Additionally, American Class I freight railroad company CSX Transportation unveiled its first hydrogen fuel cell locomotive in March 2024, which marked a significant milestone in sustainable freight transportation in the U.S. The zero-emission vehicle is powered by two Ballard FCwave™ units, totalling 400kW.

CPKC testing

For the past few years, CPKC has conducted service trials and qualification testing with several of their locomotives to evaluate hydrogen’s suitability for the freight-rail sector.

In its latest series of tests carried out in September, CPKC's high-horsepower hydrogen locomotive CP 1200, along with its dedicated fuel tender, CP 10001, joined a consist that included three diesel locomotives and 152 gondolas - which together pulled a fully-loaded bulk train from Sparwood to Golden and back within 24 hours; a distance of 600km across British Columbia.

[Footage courtesy of CPKC]

Based on the latest analyses, testing and other factors, the railroad has found that the locomotives can effectively be used to decarbonize rail terminals and provide sufficient ranges to perform local mainline operations.

Having now completed 20 mainline tests, the hydrogen locomotives have registered more than 3,540km (2,200 miles) and moved over 1,300 cars without any service failures.

"Hydrogen has proven to be the fuel of the future and we want to demonstrate that hydrogen-powered locomotives are feasible and can be practically operated in the industry. Biofuels can take you so far, but not to zero emissions. We want to build up the reliability of hydrogen locomotives and prove out the technology."

Kyle Mulligan Assistant Vice President, Operations Technology, CPKC

Part of the testing also involved operating the locomotives in the extreme cold, with the trains running in -30 C temperatures with no operational issues.

The test trains handled local assignments in the Brooks Subdivision near Carseland, Alberta, and revenue service for a move from North Calgary to Alyth, Alberta.

CSX testing

Recent CSX tests of a hydrogen-powered locomotive have begun following the conversion of a diesel unit utilizing a kit developed by CPKC.

As an initial step in the collaboration, CSX converted one of its diesel locomotives using CPKC’s hydrogen conversion kit, with CSX unveiling the hydrogen after completing the conversion at its locomotive shop in Huntington, West Virginia in April 2024.

Now, the unit is undergoing field testing to evaluate its performance and operational feasibility, with more hydrogen locomotives expected to enter the testing phase before the end of the year. 

Following testing and in collaboration with CPKC, CSX is aiming to build a sample number of 20 locomotive units and deploy them in service concurrently for one year - with the data provided from this period enabling the companies to determine the overall reliability of the hydrogen-powered trains and assess component failure rates.

This phase is expected to run into 2027, with subsequent high-horsepower unit testing likely to last until 2030. Given this timeframe, CPKC are open to further partnerships with other Class Is to help accelerate the advancement of the rail industry's movement for large-scale decarbonization.