Poland investigates use of hydrogen fuel for rail freight
POLISH coal mining company JSW and national rail freight operator PKP Cargo have agreed to cooperate to research, analyse and possibly produce new types of hydrogen-powered freight wagons and shunting locomotives.
POLISH coal mining company JSW and national rail freight operator PKP Cargo have agreed to cooperate to research, analyse and possibly produce new types of hydrogen-powered freight wagons and shunting locomotives.
The two companies signed a letter of intent during the Impact’18 conference in Krakow in June covering joint innovative investment projects related to the commercial use of hydrogen fuel.
JSW and PKP Cargo say the main goal is to work out innovative solutions to reduce consumption of energy, fuel and exhaust emissions linked to the commercial operation of hydrogen-powered wagons and locomotives. They will also analyse investment opportunities on the land of the former Krupiński mine.
JSW president Mr Daniel Ozon says they are betting on hydrogen as the fuel of the future. “In accordance with the JSW Development Strategy for 2018-2030, we are actively working towards the development of clean hydrogen technologies,” he says. “We are examining the possibility of utilising hydrogen extracted from coke oven gas, which is a by-product of the coke production process; we are also actively involved in e-mobility projects. We are striving to use coke oven gas to produce pure hydrogen that in the future could become an emission-free fuel for JSW’s contemporary rolling stock.”
Separated and purified hydrogen can be used in hydrogen cells for environmentally-friendly and emission-free generation of electricity, heat and cooling, environmentally-friendly public transport, powering electrical devices and emergency power supply stations, JSW says.
“The use of hydrogen to drive our locomotives will increase the competitiveness of our services,” says PKP president Mr Czesław Warsewicz.
