18,000 Batteries Power This All-Electric Train And Its Thousand-Ton Cargos
Image via Wabtec
It’s not just cars and planes that are trying to achieve the most minimal carbon emissions they possibly can.
At the Freight 2030 Mission to Net Zero event, Pittsburgh-based company Wabtec showcased the FLXdrive: a heavy-haul locomotive that is designed to be fully electric and battery-operated.
It was put through testing across more than 13,320 miles of San Joaquin Valley’s mountainous Californian terrain, replicating the conditions it would go through when transporting a few thousand tons of freight.
The locomotive is powered by 18,000 lithium-ion rechargeable batteries instead of conventional fuel, and gives the engine a reduced fuel usage of 11%, or a saving of more than 6,200 gallons of diesel fuel.
This, as reported by the company, is around 69 tons of carbon dioxide emissions saved.
According to Eric Gebhardt, Chief Technology Officer at Wabtec, the next generation of FLXdrive could potentially reduce fuel consumption and its subsequent emissions by around 30%—more than double the current model.
“The transportation sector is at a critical inflection point,” president and CEO of the company, Rafael Santana, stated at the event.
“With technologies providing increased battery and hydrogen power capacity, we have the potential to eliminate up to 120 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year in North America.”
It was reported on Monday that ore mining operation Roy Hill is to receive the newest version of the FLXdrive, which will have a battery capacity of seven megawatt hours, in 2023.
“Controlling emissions is critical in the fight against climate change,” states Rogerio Mendonca, Wabtec’s President of Freight Equipment. “The FLXdrive battery-electric locomotive is a bold step toward a low-to-zero-emission locomotive future.”
She crossed the finish line in championship fashion! The FLXdrive Battery Electric Locomotive demonstrated her power in an electrifying test of endurance to drive down emissions. #Freight2030 #Sustainability #Decarbonization #Innovation #WeAreWabtec pic.twitter.com/zJ0VFrsGYx
— Wabtec Corporation (@WabtecCorp) May 13, 2021
[via Pittsburgh Business Times, image via Wabtec]
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