Hydrogen hybrid train rolls off production line

The first hydrogen fuel-cell hybrid locomotive manufactured in Shanxi rolled off the production line at CRRC Datong Electric Locomotive based in the northern Shanxi city of Datong on Jan 27, marking the latest breakthrough in the province's efforts to achieve environmentally friendly and sustainable growth.

"This is the first hydrogen fuel-cell hybrid locomotive independently developed in China, producing zero emissions," said Huang Qichao, board chairman of CRRC Datong.

The locomotive was jointly developed by Southwest Jiaotong University based in Chengdu, Sichuan province and CRRC Datong.

When talking about sustainability, Zhai Wanming, professor at Southwest Jiaotong University and chief developer of the project, said hydrogen is one of the cleanest energy sources in the world and also has the largest reserves among all chemical fuels.

"The electricity of the locomotive is generated from a hydrogen-oxygen reaction, with water being the only emissions. This is why the locomotive is regarded as the most environmentally friendly," Zhai said.

Hydrogen has some of the richest reserves on Earth, so it is a kind of resource that can never be depleted, Zhai said.

The scientist noted that hydrogen is becoming more used as a fuel due to recent breakthroughs in hydrogen fuel-cells. The cells are used in automobiles, railway locomotives and telecommunications equipment.

With a sustained power output of 700 kilowatts, a train using a hydrogen fuel-cell hybrid can run 24.5 hours at 80 kilometers per hour, carrying a maximum load of 5,000 metric tons, according to Zhao Ming, engineer-in-chief at CRRC Datong.

Zhao added that the locomotive is much quieter compared with the traditional ones. "The noise can be as much as 18 decibels lower in environments like tunnels."

CRRC Datong will announce its plans for market delivery of the locomotives in the first half of this year, company executives said, adding that it will target China and Europe as its major markets.

Hydrogen will be supplied by local companies that produce the gas from coal resources in Datong.

Xiongtao Holding is one of the suppliers. Zhou Qiang, an executive of the company, said turning coal into hydrogen represents a new, environmentally friendly transformation of the coal industry in Datong, which has coal reserves of 31.2 billion tons.

Zhou said the company is building the largest coal-to-hydrogen industrial park in North China, designed to supply hydrogen for 50,000 fuel-cells a year.

Yao Weiwei contributed to this story.