The Ministry of Transportation is included for the first time! The range of railway locomotives is l

Recently, the Ministry of Transport issued the "Measures for the Qualification Licensing of Railway Locomotive and Rolling Stock Drivers (Order No. 9 of 2024 of the Ministry of Transport People's Republic of China hereinafter referred to as the "Measures"), clarifying the types of railway locomotives and rolling stock, and stipulating that J6 quasi-driving electric locomotives include electric and electric hybrid and hydrogen-powered new energy locomotives. This is the first time in China that hydrogen-powered new energy locomotives have been included in the management of quasi-driving railway locomotives, which provides a policy basis for the commercial development of hydrogen locomotives in China.

Old diesel locomotives are heavily polluting, have high energy consumption and high noise, and can no longer meet the needs of green and low-carbon development of railways. A number of interviewees pointed out that the release of the "Measures" shows that the country's recognition of hydrogen locomotives has been greatly improved, and the research and development and application of hydrogen locomotives have been supported from a strategic level. In the future, the use of hydrogen locomotives will be expanded from local railways, industrial and mining enterprises in the past to the national railway market, and the development of market access will bring more development space for hydrogen locomotives.

It has the advantages of high energy efficiency and zero emission

"Hydrogen locomotives have the characteristics of high energy conversion rate, low environmental pollution and low noise." Talking about the advantages of hydrogen locomotives, Liu Zhifeng, general manager of the off-road business department of CRRC Datong Electric Locomotive Co., Ltd., told the China Energy News reporter.

In addition, some industry insiders said that because there is no need to re-erect the power grid, compared with traditional fuel and electric locomotives, hydrogen energy locomotives have more obvious advantages in relatively closed subways, tunnels, mines and other environments, and the application and maintenance costs are also lower.

Song Chengbin, a senior researcher at the China Automotive Strategy and Policy Research Center, analyzed that using hydrogen energy as a power can achieve low-carbon environmental protection of the entire industrial chain and solve the problem of air pollution in the power source stage of electrified railways.

According to the calculations of the team led by Chen Weirong, dean of the Institute of Hydrogen Energy and Energy Storage Technology of Southwest Jiaotong University, a hydrogen energy city bullet train with a speed of 160 kilometers per hour can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 10,000 kilograms a year, and the carbon reduction effect is very obvious.

The reporter learned that China's railway carbon emissions mainly come from diesel locomotives, and there are currently nearly 10,000 diesel locomotives to undertake transportation tasks, which are heavily polluting, high energy consumption, and noisy, and it is imperative to eliminate and update.

To this end, in recent years, China's locomotive field has been looking for clean solutions, and has produced a variety of new energy locomotives such as hydrogen fuel cell locomotives and hybrid locomotives. The railway industry is accelerating the application of new energy locomotives, and strives to achieve the basic elimination of old diesel locomotives by 2027.

Constantly breaking new ground

In recent years, China has made continuous breakthroughs in hydrogen rail transit. "At present, the products of domestic hydrogen rail transit are mainly used for intercity trains, urban trams and shunting locomotives." Song Chengbin said. According to incomplete statistics, 19 hydrogen energy rail cars have been publicly rolled off the assembly line across the country, including 16 passenger rail cars, 2 freight locomotives, and 1 special operation car.

For example, on October 29, 2021, the first hydrogen fuel cell hybrid locomotive developed by CRRC Datong Electric Locomotive Co., Ltd. was officially put into use, marking a major leap from product development to practical application of China's rail transit equipment in the field of new energy.

"At that time, the design speed was 80 kilometers per hour, the full load of hydrogen could run continuously for 24.5 hours, and the maximum traction load of the straight road exceeded 5,000 tons, which could reduce carbon emissions by about 80 kilograms per 10,000 tons of kilometers compared with diesel locomotives." Liu Zhifeng said.

With the continuous advancement of research and development, in April this year, China's first high-power hydrogen-powered shunting locomotive jointly developed by the National Energy Group and CRRC completed the 10,000-ton loading test for the first time at Sidaoliu Station of Bazhun Line of Xinshuo Railway, marking a key breakthrough in the market-oriented application of high-power hydrogen energy power equipment for heavy-haul railways in China.

In mid-August this year, the above-mentioned high-power hydrogen energy locomotive demonstrated to the media the practical application of hydrogen energy on heavy-haul railways. According to reports, the locomotive is the first 2400 kilowatt high-power hydrogen energy locomotive in China, which can be described as "big man with great wisdom", which can realize a variety of power supply modes of hydrogen fuel power supply, lithium battery power supply and hybrid power supply according to different traction application needs, greatly reducing air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions.

Song Wei, the instructor of the National Energy Xinshuo Railway Locomotive Company, said: "This hydrogen energy locomotive is not only energy-saving and environmentally friendly, but also has a particularly large power, with a speed of up to 100 kilometers per hour and a maximum traction load of 10,000 tons, which is equivalent to pulling more than 200 carriages, and the carriages are about 6 kilometers long." In addition, the hydrogen locomotive can run continuously for more than 12 hours when fully loaded with hydrogen, with a range of 800 kilometers. Calculations show that this locomotive alone can reduce fuel consumption by 164 tons and carbon dioxide emissions by 508 tons per year.

Promote the development of related industries

Talking about the technical challenges of hydrogen locomotives, Liu Zhifeng said frankly, "First, how to better complete the low-temperature verification of hydrogen locomotives and continue to improve the performance of locomotives; The second is how to increase the hydrogen storage capacity of hydrogen locomotives, and then improve the endurance of the whole vehicle. ”

"At the same time, high operating costs and poor infrastructure also limit the development of hydrogen locomotives." Song Chengbin said that the higher operating costs of hydrogen trains are higher than those of diesel and electric trains, mainly due to high fuel costs and high maintenance costs, including high hydrogen prices and low energy conversion efficiency, while high maintenance costs involve the high cost of replacing fuel cell components and maintaining and renovating railway lines.

The reporter learned that at present, hydrogen refueling stations for hydrogen energy trains are scarce in China, and the problem of hydrogen refueling restricts the application and promotion. Due to its large capacity, difficult construction and high technical requirements, hydrogen refueling stations are extremely strict in terms of safety design.

In this regard, Song Chengbin suggested that policy guidance should be strengthened first to support the application of hydrogen energy in the field of rail transit. Improve the hydrogen energy development plan, and include rail transit in hydrogen energy application scenarios. Formulate a hydrogen energy application strategy and roadmap in the field of rail transit, clarify the role of hydrogen energy in the "dual carbon" goal and long-term energy strategy, establish standards and specifications for hydrogen energy rail transit, and allow qualified localities to take the lead in the trial.

Secondly, we should also increase the development of hydrogen fuel cell technology and continuously improve the performance level of hydrogen trains. Promote the development of fuel cell technology in the direction of modularization, intelligence, and long mileage to meet the needs of different power levels. At the same time, it will improve the mileage of hydrogen energy trains and the efficiency of hydrogen energy recycling.

Finally, it is necessary to continuously improve the infrastructure construction and form a convenient hydrogen refueling system. Improve the construction of hydrogen refueling stations, and form an efficient and convenient hydrogen refueling service system that matches the operation network of hydrogen energy trains. In the view of many industry insiders, the development of hydrogen locomotives will give rise to large-scale and diversified demand for new energy products, which will also drive the vigorous development of battery, electrical, motor and other related industries. (Reporter Zhang Shengjie)

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