(Calgary, Canada) – Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) railway company has reached another milestone in its hydrogen locomotive program. The construction of hydrogen production and refueling facilities in Calgary and Edmonton, in partnership with Atco EnPower, has been completed. Atco, a division of Canadian Utilities Ltd., will also operate these facilities.
The H2 locomotive of the "CP 1200" series, along with the fuel tender (CP 10001), underwent a test program in October and drove 152 fully loaded open freight cars (gondola) in British Columbia in a train with two diesel locomotives for a good 350 kilometers from Sparwood to Golden. © Canadian Pacific Kansas City (Screenshot)
Each of the plants includes a one-megawatt (MW) electrolyzer, as well as compression, storage and refueling systems. In Calgary, the electrolyzer will be powered "partly by renewable electricity from the existing 5 MW solar array" at the rail company's headquarters. "These refueling plants are an important part of the ongoing testing of our hydrogen locomotives and the development of our program that is working towards a lower-carbon future of transportation," said Kyle Mulligan, CPKC Assistant Vice President, Operations Technology.
As part of its hydrogen program, CPKC announced in December 2020 that it would develop North America's first hydrogen-powered locomotive. Diesel locomotives will be retrofitted with the zero-emission technology. This is "a path to decarbonizing rail freight," the company said, and will reduce "overall capital costs by using existing locomotives compared to building new vehicles."
The locomotives of the types “CP 1001” (left) and “CP 1002” complete their first test runs on the company premises. © Canadian Pacific Kansas City (screenshot)
In March 2021, CPKC announced its collaboration with Canadian fuel cell manufacturer Ballard Power Systems Inc. Its drive modules have a total output of 1,2 megawatts. At the end of that year, plans for additional locomotives and refueling stations in Calgary and Edmonton were published. Shortly thereafter, the prototype was on the road under its own power for the first time. The "2022" locomotive went on the road in October 1001.
CPKC is converting diesel locomotives to hydrogen as part of its development program. © Canadian Pacific Kansas City (Screenshot)
In June 2023, CPKC and the US transport company CSX Corp. agreed on a joint venture to build and provide conversion kits for diesel locomotives to run on hydrogen. In August 2023, the company ordered 18 fuel cell engines with an output of 200 kilowatts each from Ballard Power. As reported, Ballard had already delivered 20 engines in the previous two years for use in three different locomotive types with a combined output of four megawatts. A few months later, in October 2023, the further development "1002" completed tests in the depot and on the main line and went into regular operation as a shunting locomotive in Calgary in November.
In August of this year, CPKC and CSX presented the first joint H2 locomotive. Finally, in September, the first test phase with a coal transport took place in cooperation with a named "customer from the steel industry". A few weeks ago, in October 2024, the "CP 1200" completed its second test run, during which it powered a freight train loaded with coal on the 350-kilometer route from a mine in Sparwood to Golden in British Columbia.
20.000 kilometers of railway lines
CPKC, headquartered in Calgary, Canada, has 20.000 kilometers of track and connects Canada, the United States and Mexico with a single-track transnational route. This includes access to the major ports from Vancouver through Atlantic Canada and the Gulf of Mexico to Lázaro Cárdenas in Mexico.
Atco EnPower develops solutions in areas such as renewable energy, energy storage and alternative fuels. The Atco subsidiary Canadian Utilities Ltd. employs around 9.000 people and has assets of 23 billion US dollars. The company offers services for energy infrastructure, among other things.
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CPKC has put two hydrogen filling stations into operation in its network. © Canadian Pacific Kansas City
