The Polish oil concern Orlen tested the first hydrogen locomotive on the route from Gdynia to Hel.
The locomotive was developed by the Polish manufacturer of railway vehicles PESA Bydgoszcz, reports Polskie Radio.
The Director of the Bureau of Hydrogen Technologies and Synthetic Fuels of the Orlen Group, Grzegorz Juzwiak, said that the locomotive is planned to be tested in various places in Poland, in particular for industrial use, until the middle of 2024.
"After all the verification tests and preparation of our plant from the safety point of view for the introduction of such a vehicle, we expect the locomotive to start its main operation next year," he said.
It is noted that Orlen's strategy until 2030 includes 7.4 billion zlotys ($1.7 billion) of investment in hydrogen technologies based on renewable energy sources and technology for processing household waste into hydrogen.
The material added that Orlen and Lotos Kolej companies plan to finally hydrogenate the fleet of locomotives at the production plant in Plotsk and other places. In the long term, the concern plans to focus on the development of the hydrogen sales market and the construction of a network of hydrogen gas stations for railway transport. The company is also developing a network of public hydrogen filling stations in Poland and abroad.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that in Germany, the diesel trains of the LNVG regional connection were replaced by the world's first trains with a 100% hydrogen engine.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, in Italy, 4 regions announced tenders for a total amount of €600.5 million for the supply of hydro-powered trains and battery-powered trains.
