On January 27, 2021, China’s first hydrogen fuel cell hybrid locomotive independently developed by China successfully rolled off the production line at CRRC Datong Electric Locomotive Co., Ltd., marking a key breakthrough in China’s hydrogen energy utilization technology, and Chinese railway locomotive equipment entering the global hydrogen market. Able to technically high ground.

Locomotive details

Zhai Wanming, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, chief professor of Southwest Jiaotong University, and doctoral supervisor, said that the hydrogen fuel cell hybrid locomotive uses a hybrid power method that combines a hydrogen fuel cell system and a high-power lithium battery. Directly generating electricity to drive locomotives is the first hydrogen-fueled hybrid locomotive independently developed in my country.

At present, hydrogen fuel has been successfully used in aerospace, automobiles, urban trams and other fields in China. The off-line hydrogen fuel cell hybrid locomotive is the latest achievement in the industrial application of China's hydrogen energy in the field of railway locomotives, and it has strongly promoted China's railway equipment to enter the global hydrogen energy application "club".

The hydrogen fuel cell hybrid locomotive was set up in 2020 and is listed as a major scientific research project of Shanxi Province and CRRC. The locomotive has a design speed of 80 kilometers per hour and a continuous power of 700 kilowatts. It can run continuously for 24.5 hours on a single machine with a full load of hydrogen. The maximum towing load exceeds 5000 tons.

Without changing any basic railway line conditions, locomotives can perform multi-purpose tasks such as operation, shunting, and rescue in various locomotive depots, car depots, marshalling yards, large factories, mines, and ports.

Since there is no discharge of any pollutants, and there is no need to re-install the grid, compared with traditional fuel and electric locomotives, hydrogen fuel cell hybrid locomotives have more obvious advantages in the use of relatively closed subways, tunnels, mines and other environments. Application and maintenance costs Also lower.

The test operation data shows that the energy conversion efficiency of hydrogen fuel cell hybrid locomotives is significantly higher than that of traditional internal combustion engines. At the same time, the locomotive can absorb the feedback energy when braking. By formulating reasonable energy management strategies, it is fully possible to achieve the best Excellent energy output.

Since the hydrogen fuel cell hybrid locomotive adopts a modular design, all equipment including the driver’s cab has been modularly installed. This also enables the hydrogen fuel hybrid locomotive to perform different operations according to the actual needs and application conditions of customers. The flexible combination of power levels and different power modes such as traditional + new energy has a very broad industrial application prospect. Editor/Peng Xue