Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and CSX, North American railway companies, have announced their joint venture to develop hydrogen locomotives. The collaboration aims to build and deploy hydrogen conversion kits for diesel locomotives, with hydrogen being seen as a crucial element in transitioning to a cleaner energy future, especially for sectors with challenging emissions reduction, such as heavy transport.
Recent commitments from major economies, including the United States, to scale up clean hydrogen production capacity further underscore the importance of hydrogen in achieving climate goals. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in the U.S. has allocated $9.5 billion for clean hydrogen development and launched a clean hydrogen strategy.
This partnership builds upon Canadian Pacific’s previous announcement in 2020 about developing the first line-haul hydrogen-powered locomotive in North America. Through retrofitting a diesel locomotive with hydrogen fuel cells and battery technology, they have already conducted over 1,000 miles of testing in revenue service.
CPKC’s President and CEO, Keith Creel, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration, highlighting the expansion of their hydrogen locomotive program and the demonstration of hydrogen’s long-term viability as an emissions reduction solution in the industry. The joint venture will commence with the conversion of one of CSX’s diesel locomotives using the hydrogen conversion kits developed by CPKC.