China’s first independently developed hydrogen fuelcell hybrid locomotive rolls off the production line at CRRC Datong.WANG PEI/FOR CHINA DAILY
The first hydrogen fuel-cell hybrid locomotive manufactured in Shanxi rolled off the production line at CRRC Datong Electric Locomotive based in the northern Shanxi city of Datong on Jan 27, marking the latest breakthrough in the province's efforts to achieve environmentally friendly and sustainable growth.
"This is the first hydrogen fuel-cell hybrid locomotive independently developed in China, producing zero emissions," said Huang Qichao, board chairman of CRRC Datong.
The locomotive was jointly developed by Southwest Jiaotong University based in Chengdu, Sichuan province and CRRC Datong.
When talking about sustainability, Zhai Wanming, professor at Southwest Jiaotong University and chief developer of the project, said hydrogen is one of the cleanest energy sources in the world and also has the largest reserves among all chemical fuels.
"The electricity of the locomotive is generated from a hydrogen-oxygen reaction, with water being the only emissions. This is why the locomotive is regarded as the most environmentally friendly," Zhai said.
Hydrogen has some of the richest reserves on Earth, so it is a kind of resource that can never be depleted, Zhai said.
The scientist noted that hydrogen is becoming more used as a fuel due to recent breakthroughs in hydrogen fuel-cells. The cells are used in automobiles, railway locomotives and telecommunications equipment.
With a sustained power output of 700 kilowatts, a train using a hydrogen fuel-cell hybrid can run 24.5 hours at 80 kilometers per hour, carrying a maximum load of 5,000 metric tons, according to Zhao Ming, engineer-in-chief at CRRC Datong.
Zhao added that the locomotive is much quieter compared with the traditional ones. "The noise can be as much as 18 decibels lower in environments like tunnels."
CRRC Datong will announce its plans for market delivery of the locomotives in the first half of this year, company executives said, adding that it will target China and Europe as its major markets.
Hydrogen will be supplied by local companies that produce the gas from coal resources in Datong.
Xiongtao Holding is one of the suppliers. Zhou Qiang, an executive of the company, said turning coal into hydrogen represents a new, environmentally friendly transformation of the coal industry in Datong, which has coal reserves of 31.2 billion tons.
Zhou said the company is building the largest coal-to-hydrogen industrial park in North China, designed to supply hydrogen for 50,000 fuel-cells a year.
Yao Weiwei contributed to this story.
By YUAN SHENGGAO
山西路橋:黨建引領 建好“四好農村路”山西路橋建設集團黨委扎實開展“黨建質量提升年”,實施“六大工程”,立足“十四五”高質量、高速度、高效益發展的戰略基點,全面提高黨建質量和黨建引領發展水平,為打造“國內一流的交通基礎設施投資、建設、施工現代化企業集團”提供堅強政治保障。
常住人口3491萬 山西人口普查數據"出爐"山西省統計局向社會通報山西省第七次全國人口普查主要數據。數據顯示,山西省常住人口為34915616人,比2010年(第六次全國人口普查數據,下同)減少2.23%,年平均減少0.23%。山西省常住人口總量減少,主要受人口流動變化等因素影響。