Fuel Cell Power for the Rails | Green Energy News

February 8, 2004 – Vol.8 No.46

FUEL CELL POWER FOR THE RAILS.

Imagine a high speed electric train traveling swiftly across the countryside without the need for unsightly overhead wires and supporting towers.

High-speed, independent from the power grid rail may be a long way away, but a slower version of a pollution-free locomotive is about to begin construction as a demonstration program of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).

The project, funded and administered by the US Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command's National Automotive Center (NAC), is to build a 109 metric ton rail yard switcher locomotive operated by a 1.2 megawatt proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell.

For the project, Nuvera Fuel Cells will supply eight 150-kilowatt fuel cells. Hydrogen for them will be stored on-board in a metal-hydride storage system that can be refilled in 30 minutes. The metal hydride storage system is heavy, but weight isn’t considered an issue for locomotives.

Hydrogen will be generated track-side from ammonia in a system to be provided by MesoFuel. Ammonia is hydrogen dense being 75 percent hydrogen and 25 percent nitrogen. The ammonia hydrogen generation system may eventually be on-board the locomotive.

The project officially known as the Defense Fuel Cell Locomotive Project is scheduled to be complete by 2008. The project can be followed through the Fuel Cell Propulsion Institute at http://www.fuelcellpropulsion.org/ . Visit Nuvera at http://www.nuvera.com and MesoFuel at http://www.mesofuel.com/ .