Pesa has completed the final stage of homologation testing of the SM42-6Dn hydrogen shunting locomotive. This was the first hydrogen-powered vehicle in the history of the Railway Institute’s Centre, the homologation tests of which were conducted in Żmigród. A special hydrogen refuelling station was prepared for the tanking from a mobile station located on the test track.

“All the tests were completed as scheduled. Now it is time to prepare the documentation for certification, then the approval procedure. We assume that in April the locomotive will start operating on the premises of Petrochemia in Płock”, concluded Dr Lech Lipiński, PESA Bydgoszcz hydrogen vehicle contract manager.

At the end of the tests in Żmigród, Pesa invited a dozen Polish and foreign freight carriers to a special presentation of the SM42-6Dn locomotive with a demonstration of hydrogen refuelling from a mobile station and tests.

“The presence of dozens of representatives of cargo and intermodal carriers confirms the interest shown in our hydrogen shunting locomotive project. In addition to modernising the SM42-6Dn, we will offer new hydrogen locomotives to customers on the Polish and European markets. Work on these projects as part of the zero-emission platform for locomotives and passenger vehicles is already underway”, announced Krzysztof Zdziarski, CEO of Pesa.

‘We are ready to commercialise the hydrogen shunting locomotive project. We wanted to present to our customers not only the vehicle and the hydrogen refuelling process, but also to give them the opportunity to learn about various financial instruments to support investment in hydrogen rolling stock and its refuelling infrastructure”, added Maciej Grześkowiak, Pesa’s director of strategic projects and communications.

“Green Pesa” is one of the key elements of the Pesa2026+ strategy implemented by the company. It assumes not only the production of emission-free, battery and hydrogen rail vehicles, but also the reduction of CO2 emissions both in production and in the company’s overall operations.

Adrian Andrzejewski