Namibia is set to develop Africa’s first hydrogen-diesel locomotive. A consortium of Hyphen Technical, CMB.TECH, Namibian National Railways TransNamib, the University of Namibia and Traxtion will develop Africa’s first dual-fuel hydrogen-diesel locomotive, with a unique hydrogen storage method.
The project dubbed HyRail Namibia will receive funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The consortium will be led by Hyphen Technical, a company based in Africa which aims to develop the technology for implementing hydrogen as a fuel on rolling stock and other freight vehicles.
Two traditional diesel-electric locomotives will be converted to be able to use hydrogen in the internal combustion engines, using hydrogen technology developed over two decades by CMB.TECH. Also, a hydrogen fuel storage car to store fuel for the locomotives will be developed.
Green hydrogen
The locomotive will be fuelled with Namibian green hydrogen provided by Cleanergy Solutions Namibia, which is developing a green hydrogen production facility near Walvis Bay. The prototypes will be built and adapted at the Traxtion Rail Hub in Rosslyn, South Africa and then moved to Walvis Bay for operation by TransNamib.
Maintenance of the locomotives will take place in Namibia by Traxtion, which will also provide training for TransNamib technical staff. Through this project, TransNamib will be the first state-owned railway in Africa to operate hydrogen powered locomotives. The goal of the pilot is to pave the way towards conversion of the entire locomotive fleet in Namibia in the future. In total, the hydrogen locomotive project will cost 7,6 million euros and is expected to be completed in 18 months.
“The tandem set of two dual fuel locomotives with an hydrogen storage carriage in between will be the first in the world, and has a great potential to offer low cost logistics, which will bring new opportunities for the country”, said Roy Campe, CTO of CMB.TECH.
The shift to sustainable rolling stock such as hydrogen and battery trains and re-fuelling and recharging infrastructure is central at the Rail Infra Forum on 15-16 March 2023 in Berlin.
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