Wabtec unveils world's first battery-electric freight train

Pittsburgh-based transport company Wabtec has unveiled what it claims is the world's first 100% battery-electric freight train at an event in Pennsylvania, with the company having recently made its first sale.

It showed off the newest prototype for the FLXdrive locomotive at Carnegie Mellon University as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between itself and the institution to help decarbonise the US' railways and help deliver the 1.7 trillion tonnes of goods shipped each year.

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Developed with a $22.6 million (€19.19 million) grant from the California Air Resource Board, the locomotive is reportedly able to carry as much as 35,000 tonnes of iron ore while still reducing overall fuel consumption.

The prototype present at the event was powered by around 500 lithium-ion battery modules and can allegedly travel at 75 mph on a 350-mile journey.

While the primary purpose of this partnership is to invest in trains that run on alternative fuels, such as batteries, its ultimate end goal will be to use hydrogen fuel cells alongside investment in new signalling and digital technologies to increase rail network capacity, utilisation and safety across the US.

“Pennsylvania has a long, proud history of railroads and railroad manufacturing," said Senator Bob Casey. “Transportation and economic development remain among my top priorities for our state and today's announcement places Pennsylvania at the centre to address climate change through transportation policy."

Carnegie Mellon University's President Farnam Jahanian stated the "time was right" to accelerate the application of emerging technologies to transform the rail industry.

He added: “Advances in digital technologies and artificial intelligence will revolutionise freight rail by driving dramatic improvements in safety and network capacity, while simultaneously increasing efficiency across the nation’s supply chain."

Shortly after its unveiling, Wabtec made its first official sale for the train, which had been purchased by Australian miner Roy Hill for use at its rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Expected for delivery in 2023, this newest model is expected to run at an energy capacity of around 7MWh - nearly triple prior models of the train tested in the US.

Based on the route and Roy Hill’s rail operations, the FLXdrive is anticipated to reduce the company’s fuel costs and emissions by more than 10% per train, the miner claims.

Wendy McMillan, the regional senior Vice President for Wabtec's Australia and New Zealand arms described it as a "revolutionary technology" and displayed a "forward-thinking" attitude by the miner.

"Roy Hill is pioneering new approaches to its operations that will benefit the company’s bottom line", she added.

Wabtec has set itself a goal to deliver on "next-generation" zero-emission locomotives, both by introducing new models to the market and by repowering existing trains through battery-electric power, hydrogen internal combustion engines and hydrogen fuel cells.

If successful, the company claims the locomotive and freighting sectors could save up to 300 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year.

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“Controlling emissions is critical in the fight against climate change,” Wabtec's President of Freight Rogerio Mendonca revealed. “The FLXdrive battery-electric locomotive is a bold step toward a low-to-zero-emission locomotive future. 

"We [will] continue working on solutions that cut the overall carbon footprint of the industries we serve through the development of low-emitting locomotives like the FLXdrive, and the use of alternative fuels such as biodiesel, renewable diesel and hydrogen," he added.

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