A memorandum of agreement was signed by Progress Rail, BNSF Railway Company, and Chevron to progress the demonstration of a locomotive fueled by hydrogen fuel cells.
The demonstration’s purpose is to establish the viability and performance of hydrogen fuel as a viable line-haul rail alternative to existing fuels. Hydrogen has the potential to play a big role in transportation as a lower-carbon alternative to diesel, with hydrogen fuel cells providing a way of reducing emissions.
The parties are working toward finalizing agreements on a demonstration with three key goals as part of the MOU. To begin, Progress Rail intends to develop and build a prototype hydrogen fuel cell locomotive for line-haul and/or other rail applications. Second, Chevron plans to build the fuelling strategy and infrastructure needed to enable the locomotive’s operation. Finally, for a mutually agreed-upon amount of time, the prototype hydrogen fuel cell locomotive will be shown on BNSF’s tracks.
“Caterpillar has made significant progress in developing innovative power technologies. Our Progress Rail team will use its knowledge and experience to the development of a hydrogen fuel cell locomotive “Joe Creed, Caterpillar’s Energy and Transportation group president, stated. “We will be able to promote hydrogen technology across the industry by collaborating with Chevron and BNSF.”
“BNSF is excited to work with Chevron and Progress Rail to test locomotives fueled by hydrogen fuel cells,” said John Lovenburg, BNSF’s vice president of environmental. “This technology has the potential to cut carbon emissions while remaining cost competitive, making it a lower-carbon choice for line-haul service in the future.”
“Chevron is committed to growing its hydrogen business to satisfy the demands of clients looking to minimize their operations’ lifetime carbon emissions,” said Jeff Gustavson, president of Chevron New Energies. “As we continue to develop a commercially viable hydrogen economy, our collaboration with Progress Rail and BNSF is a critical step toward pushing new use cases for hydrogen in heavy duty transport.”
Caterpillar Inc. is cooperating with Chevron to demonstrate hydrogen projects in transportation and stationary power applications, as previously reported.
Negotiation of formal agreements with typical closing conditions, including regulatory approval, is required for the proposed demonstration project. If confirmed, more information on the hydrogen locomotive demonstration, including the location and timing of the initial pilot, will be provided at a later date.
