Africa-Press – Namibia. A N$110 million project will develop Africa’s first two dual-fuel hydrogen-diesel locomotives for TransNamib.
A N$110 million project will develop Africa’s first two dual-fuel hydrogen-diesel locomotives for TransNamib.
The locomotives will have the capability to run on diesel and Namibian green hydrogen gas.
One of the locomotives that will be converted will be supplied by TransNamib while a second one will come from South African locomotive company Traxtion, and will also be used by TransNamib.
The prototypes will be built and adapted at the Traxtion rail hub in Rosslyn, South Africa, and will then be moved to Walvis Bay.
A consortium led by hydrogen energy developer, Hyphen Technical, and comprising TransNamib, the University of Namibia (Unam), Belgium hydrogen application developer CMB TECH and Traxtion is developing the project.
The HyRail project follows the Namibian Green Hydrogen Conference held in Windhoek in August, through the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and the Namibian government.
Transnamib spokesperson Abigail Raubenheimer said their engineers will be part of the design process to gain insights into the technology in order to have capacity to maintain and convert locomotives in the future.
“The feasibility that TransNamib will be part of will provide foundations for development of hydrogen powered locomotives, and if successful, should allow TransNamib to convert its total fleet of 41 locomotives.
“The potential is huge for all facets of TransNamib’s business, from operating hydrogen-powered passenger services up to being the transporter of hydrogen to customers in the country and the region. This is of course dependent on the pilot project and how feasible it is for our operations,” Raubenheimer said.
Hyphen Technical entered Namibia through an open bidding opportunity in August to November of 2021, where proposals were presented to the government for the use of land in the Tsau Khaeb National Park as part of the Southern Corridor Development Initiative.
The Hyphen Project, as it is known, under the purview of Marco Raffinetti, the chief executive officer of Hyphen Hydrogen, was given the preferred bidder status for the proposed development of a two-million tonne per annum green ammonia plant, with 350 000 tonne hydrogen per annum production, using a 3GW electrolyser and ~6.5GW of wind and solar energy capacity.
CAPITALISING ON LOCAL PRODUCTION
Hyphen Technical chief executive officer Konrad Boshoff told The Namibian that although hydrogen fuel cell locomotives have been in development at prototype level for almost 15 years, the idea of a hydrogen dual-fuel internal combustion engine locomotive using the latest hydrogen combustion technology came through discussions among partners that formed the consortium.
“Because hydrogen will be produced in large quantities in the future within Namibia, using hydrogen as a fuel for rail transportation is a great way to get local value out of the large mega projects for hydrogen gas (H2) production and offer cleaner and affordable transportation to Namibia,” he said.
Boshoff further explained that CMB TECH will provide the H2 engine and H2 fuel system equipment, including specialist engineering design on systems and testing.
Traxtion will be the implementing and maintenance partner for the project, while TransNamib will be the train operator and use the locomotives in service operation, and provide the local rail knowledge for certification and operation.
Unam will provide research expertise on specific topics related to H2 and Namibian environmental conditions, including standards development for H2 in rail and provide graduates for internships to the project to upskill and build capability and experience in the local knowledge body.
Hyphen Technical will be responsible for systems engineering and integration, locomotive systems design and integration for the incoming H2 equipment, perform specific feasibility studies and lead project management, administration and coordination.
Boshoff noted that the project will take approximately 20 months to the point of locomotive readiness for trial operation and 24 months to project completion, where the locomotives will be put into active service on the Namibian railways.
“We believe that there is an important role for hydrogen combustion to play in fostering in the hydrogen economy, especially for rail, heavy vehicles and certain industrial equipment applications,” he said.
The technology used in hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel combustion technology that is implemented on diesel engines involves substituting up to 85% of diesel with hydrogen.
Another advantage is that the existing and older locomotive fleet can be converted to become useful assets and still have the opportunity to operate with lower emissions.
The locomotives will have the capability to run on diesel and Namibian green hydrogen gas.
One of the locomotives that will be converted will be supplied by TransNamib while a second one will come from South African locomotive company Traxtion, and will also be used by TransNamib.
The prototypes will be built and adapted at the Traxtion rail hub in Rosslyn, South Africa, and will then be moved to Walvis Bay.
A consortium led by hydrogen energy developer, Hyphen Technical, and comprising TransNamib, the University of Namibia (Unam), Belgium hydrogen application developer CMB TECH and Traxtion is developing the project.
The HyRail project follows the Namibian Green Hydrogen Conference held in Windhoek in August, through the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and the Namibian government.
Transnamib spokesperson Abigail Raubenheimer said their engineers will be part of the design process to gain insights into the technology in order to have capacity to maintain and convert locomotives in the future.
“The feasibility that TransNamib will be part of will provide foundations for development of hydrogen powered locomotives, and if successful, should allow TransNamib to convert its total fleet of 41 locomotives.
“The potential is huge for all facets of TransNamib’s business, from operating hydrogen-powered passenger services up to being the transporter of hydrogen to customers in the country and the region. This is of course dependent on the pilot project and how feasible it is for our operations,” Raubenheimer said.
Hyphen Technical entered Namibia through an open bidding opportunity in August to November of 2021, where proposals were presented to the government for the use of land in the Tsau Khaeb National Park as part of the Southern Corridor Development Initiative.
The Hyphen Project, as it is known, under the purview of Marco Raffinetti, the chief executive officer of Hyphen Hydrogen, was given the preferred bidder status for the proposed development of a two-million tonne per annum green ammonia plant, with 350 000 tonne hydrogen per annum production, using a 3GW electrolyser and ~6.5GW of wind and solar energy capacity.
CAPITALISING ON LOCAL PRODUCTION
Hyphen Technical chief executive officer Konrad Boshoff told The Namibian that although hydrogen fuel cell locomotives have been in development at prototype level for almost 15 years, the idea of a hydrogen dual-fuel internal combustion engine locomotive using the latest hydrogen combustion technology came through discussions among partners that formed the consortium.
“Because hydrogen will be produced in large quantities in the future within Namibia, using hydrogen as a fuel for rail transportation is a great way to get local value out of the large mega projects for hydrogen gas (H2) production and offer cleaner and affordable transportation to Namibia,” he said.
Boshoff further explained that CMB TECH will provide the H2 engine and H2 fuel system equipment, including specialist engineering design on systems and testing.
Traxtion will be the implementing and maintenance partner for the project, while TransNamib will be the train operator and use the locomotives in service operation, and provide the local rail knowledge for certification and operation.
Unam will provide research expertise on specific topics related to H2 and Namibian environmental conditions, including standards development for H2 in rail and provide graduates for internships to the project to upskill and build capability and experience in the local knowledge body.
Hyphen Technical will be responsible for systems engineering and integration, locomotive systems design and integration for the incoming H2 equipment, perform specific feasibility studies and lead project management, administration and coordination.
Boshoff noted that the project will take approximately 20 months to the point of locomotive readiness for trial operation and 24 months to project completion, where the locomotives will be put into active service on the Namibian railways.
“We believe that there is an important role for hydrogen combustion to play in fostering in the hydrogen economy, especially for rail, heavy vehicles and certain industrial equipment applications,” he said.
The technology used in hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel combustion technology that is implemented on diesel engines involves substituting up to 85% of diesel with hydrogen.
Another advantage is that the existing and older locomotive fleet can be converted to become useful assets and still have the opportunity to operate with lower emissions.
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