Fuelcell-hybrid shunt locomotive: largest fuelcell land vehicle

Abstract

A fuelcell locomotive provides the advantages of its competitors, namely catenary-electric and diesel-electric, while avoiding their disadvantages. It possesses the environmental benefits, at the vehicle, of an electric locomotive but the higher overall energy efficiency and lower infrastructure costs of a diesel. The natural fuel for a fuelcell is hydrogen, which can be produced from many renewable energies or nuclear energy, and thus a hydrogenfuelcell locomotive will not depend on imported oil. Hydrogen produced from renewable primary energies or nuclear energy would provide a totally zero-emissions vehicle, that is, with zero carbon in the energy cycle. A North American consortium a project partnership among BNSF Railway Company, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and Vehicle Projects Inc has developed a prototype hydrogen-fueled fuelcell-battery hybrid shunt locomotive for urban and military-base rail applications (see Fig. 1). This prototype is intended to lead to commercial locomotives, including freight, that will (1) reduce air and noise pollution in urban railyards, (2) increase energy security of the rail transport system by using hydrogen as fuel, (3) reduce atmospheric greenhouse-gas emissions, and (4) serve as a mobile backup power source (vehicle-to-grid) for critical infrastructure on military bases. The locomotive is presently at a BNSF railyard in the Los Angeles metro area, where it will commence its demonstration phase under working conditions. At 130 tonne, continuous net power of 240 kW from its proton-exchange membrane fuelcell prime mover, and transient power well in excess of 1 MW, the hybrid locomotive is the heaviest and most powerful fuelcell land vehicle yet built. Its 14 carbon-fiber composite compressedhydrogen storage tanks, located at the roofline, have a combined storage of 70 kg at 35