‘Hydroshunter’ makes headway at Severn Valley

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• jason leahy - 05/07/2021 19:48

  I've just read on Global Railway Review website that the diesel engine of a UK Class 66 freight locomotive has just been converted to burn a mix of biogas and hydrogen.

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  • Duncan Wilson - 06/07/2021 03:54

    It hasn't been converted yet, but a duel-fuel Class 66 conversion is under development with Freightline. It will be able to burn Diesel, or a mixture of Biogas, and Hydrogen Gas. The aim is to eventually convert the Class 66's to Hydrogen only. Instead of fuel cells, this would use the current reciprocating engine. Its an extremely inefficient way of doing it. Hydrogen technology is okay for lightweight passenger units, but not heavy freight locomotive. Hydrogen may contain more energy per kilo than diesel, but it's energy density is much, much low that diesel per unit of volume, and that is the more relevant measure. We need to stop tinkering with Hydrogen, and batteries and switch to full BiMode locomotives like the Vectron, and Eurodual alongside progressive electrification of major freight corridors eventually leading to the removal of diesel engines from the bimodes converting them to electric only. Just 500 miles of electrification, and 70% of UK freight could convert to electric traction, and that is without introducing bimodes.

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