CHN Energy Baoshen Railway Group

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2024: China launches world's first station to refuel locomotives with hydrogen

In the Chinese city of Ordos, on June 2, 2024, the world's first station for refueling locomotives with hydrogen was officially commissioned. According to the CHN Energy Baoshen Railway Group, the refueling process is controlled by a robotic system capable of operating at temperatures up to -25 ° C.

The station is designed to serve innovative hydrogen fuel cell shunting locomotives. The use of environmentally friendly hydrogen fuel will reduce diesel consumption by about 225 tons and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 800 tons per year.

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CHN Energy

According to the National Energy Voice, an unmanned refueling robot is capable of fully refueling the locomotive in just 30 minutes. This supply of hydrogen is enough to cover a distance of 800 kilometers.

The Batut Heavy Railway Hydrogenation Station has passed all the necessary checks and certifications, including testing the quality of hydrogen fuel. On June 2, 2024, she received a license to operate and was officially put into commercial operation, the press release said.

The company believes that the introduction of a hydrogen refueling station for locomotives is an important step by China in the development of environmentally friendly railway transport. Earlier, the country successfully completed tests of the world's first hydrogen fuel cell passenger train, capable of reaching speeds of up to 160 km/h.

The principle of operation of hydrogen locomotives is based on the electrochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen, as a result of which electricity is generated. At the same time, the only by-product is water, which makes this technology truly "green" and carbon-free.

Video from the official source of the CHN Energy Baoshen Railway Group shows the process of filling hydrogen with the robotic system of the new station. According to the developers, the robot is able to work autonomously within the specified parameters, which saves human resources and increases the accuracy of operations.^[1]

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