合作减少碳排放

Climate change is taking center stage in the global consciousness. 这是事实, 和 the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is a focus for everyone in the public 和 private sector. More important, it requires the development of new technologies that address this global challenge.

其中一项新兴技术是氢. This technology will play a role in Wabtec’s vision of achieving a zero-emission global rail network. 然而, 考虑到技术的成本和成熟度, it is not currently ready for commercial implementation in the freight rail industry. That is a monumental task requiring a collaborative approach to bridge the gap between emerging technology 和 practical application.

To identify solutions for applying hydrogen in the rail industry, Wabtec entered into collaborative research 和 development agreements (CRADA) with the 橡树岭 和 阿贡 National Labs – two of the nation’s premiere centers of excellence specializing in energy-related solutions. 本周, researchers from the multidisciplinary team kicked off the project 和 celebrated the installation of Wabtec’s single-cylinder dual-fuel locomotive engine in the National Transportation Research Center, a Department of Energy Office of Science user facility located at 橡树岭 National Lab (ORNL).

This collaboration is part of Wabtec’s dual path technology approach on hydrogen power for rail. One approach is using fuel cells as an alternative power source for locomotives. 去年, Wabtec announced a collaboration on fuel cells with General Motors, an area in which the automaker has enormous expertise.

The parallel approach is enhancing Wabtec’s existing internal combustion locomotive engines to burn hydrogen. This approach is the focus of the CRADA with the two national labs.

The team is focused on taking hydrogen combustion technology from simulation to realization utilizing the Wabtec engine. 氢作为燃料有许多优点, but locomotive engines must be modified to ensure safe, 非常高效。, 清洁操作. The team will develop hardware 和 control strategies for the engine, which will run on hydrogen 和 diesel fuel to demonstrate the viability of using alternative fuels.

图像

图像

“We are excited to be a part of this collaboration because it addresses the need to decarbonize the rail industry by advancing hydrogen engine technology for both current 和 future locomotives,乔什·皮尔说, an ORNL distinguished researcher 和 group leader for applied catalysis 和 emissions research. “It is also a perfect example of how a DOE-funded collaboration between industry 和 national laboratories can accelerate the development 和 commercialization of technologies to help reduce carbon emissions from transportation.”

在项目的第一阶段, the ORNL team will work on hardware changes for retrofitting locomotives. Their goal is to reduce CO2 emissions from the roughly 25,在北美已经有5000台迪士尼3彩乐园投入使用. 迪士尼3彩乐园s have a service life of more than 30 years, 因此，更换整个舰队需要几十年的时间.

在项目的第二阶段, ORNL 和 Wabtec will continue to alter the engine hardware to increase the amount of hydrogen that can be used. The team aims to completely replace diesel with hydrogen or low-carbon fuels in new locomotives.

同时, 阿贡 will leverage more than a decade of experience in modeling hydrogen injection 和 combustion to create a modeling framework to study combustion 和 emission control technologies used in hydrogen combustion engines. 燃油喷射专家, 动力学和燃烧模型, 优化设计, high-performance computing 和 machine learning will take the project from start to finish.

图像

“Many railroads have aggressive goals when it comes to CO2 reductions that are in the 30-percent range over the next decade,埃里克·格布哈特说, Wabtec的首席技术官. “The results from this CRADA with 阿贡 和 橡树岭 National Labs will contribute greatly to decarbonization of the rail industry using hydrogen. It will help position the technology to be cost effective 和 practically implemented for rail operations.”

Wabtec projects that the economics on hydrogen will be viable leading to the eventual commercial adoption of both a retrofit 和 a new unit option. This is based on the cost 和 performance of fuel cells dramatically improving over the decade 和 the cost of green hydrogen reducing 和 being more available over the same period.

The collaboration with the labs is another example of Wabtec investing to lead the rail industry in hydrogen, as it has with the Tier 4 和 the battery-electric locomotives.

图像