Jim Martin,
Erie Times News
Mon, February 21, 2022
More than 15 years have passed since General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt stepped to a microphone in Washington, D.C., to announce plans for a new hybrid locomotive to be built in Erie.
The announcement, which was covered by the national news media, was a big deal. The planned locomotive was to be a signature product of Ecomagination, the company's new environmentally focused initiative.
But the idea wasn't ready for prime time.
Related coverage: Wabtec wins major locomotive order; what will it mean for workers in Erie?
The battery technology available at the time couldn't generate enough power or last long enough to be an effective replacement for a diesel locomotive, said Alan Hamilton, a longtime engineer for GE Transportation who now serves as vice president of engineering for Wabtec, which bought the company in 2019.
In short, the idea of a hybrid freight locomotive did not move quickly into production.
All that has changed.
Orders are coming in
Just a year after testing in the California desert and Central Valley, the battery-electric FLXdrive locomotive, designed to form a hybrid train when paired with diesel locomotives, is being offered for sale.
And buyers are taking notice.
Related coverage: Manufacturing employment is down in Erie County, but opportunity abounds
Orders have been placed so far by two Australian mining companies and by Canadian National's Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad, which operates in western Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio.
Hamilton said the company is in talks with several different customers and that he's hopeful more orders could be on the way.
Alan Hamilton, vice president of engineering for Wabtec, is shown in this 2017 file photo.
All about the battery
The 4,400-hp locomotive tested in California, powered by a battery pack that generated 2.4 megawatt-hours of power, did what it was designed to do, cutting emissions and reducing overall fuel consumption by 11%.
Newer models should improve on that performance. Updated battery packs now offer a capacity of 7 megawatt-hours, enough electricity to power more than 3,000 homes for a year, and enough to pull its share of a freight train.
All of that proved to be out of reach when GE Transportation's plans for a hybrid locomotive were first announced.
"From a practical standpoint, the battery wasn't up to the task for energy and reliability," Hamilton said.
Related coverage: Erie-built electric locomotive proved itself in the California desert; could it be headed to market soon?
Advances in lithium-ion batteries, led by the automotive industry, have changed the equation.
"We had this hypothesis that this (idea) was now ready for prime time, and over the course of the last couple of years we built that 1.0 version and had it tested in California," he said.
While Wabtec has been developing its own batteries, Hamilton said the biggest advances in battery technology are being made by automotive companies.
GM announced in 2021 that it had formed a partnership with Wabtec to commercialize GM's battery and hydrogen fuel cell systems for Wabtec locomotives.
Erie-based engineers made a difference
But better batteries aren't the only thing that made the development of the battery-electric locomotive possible.
Hamilton said the electric locomotive is backed by dozens of patents and the work of more than 400 Erie-based engineers who have had a hand in the project.
Developments over the years in AC traction technology and the Trip Optimizer, which uses computer modeling to increase fuel efficiency and reduce pollution, paved the way for the development of FLXdrive.
"It's all these investments over the decades that have led us to the point where we are today," Hamilton said. "It's not all new. It's something we have been thinking about for a very long time."
Similar technology also figures to be important to Wabtec in other applications.
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority has placed a $233 million order for 25 hybrid shunter locomotives that will be powered by diesel-electric powerplants similar to the concept GE Transportation announced in 2005.
The locomotives are designed especially for usage in tunnels where exhaust emissions can be detrimental to both people and the machines.
"When it goes into a tunnel it will be in zero-emissions mode," Hamilton said.
Hamilton said that Wabtec is pleased by the early interest shown by companies interested in being the so-called first movers that are looking to adopt the new technology.
A statement from J.J. Ruest, CE of CN, hints at the level of interest among railroads.
“As part of our sustainability strategy to reduce freight transportation emissions through innovation, we plan to continue to lead the sector by deploying low and no carbon technologies,” he said. "As a mover of the economy, CN is committed to playing a key role in the transition to low-carbon economy.”
Hamilton, who was involved in the development of the top-selling Evolution locomotive, said the development of the FLXdrive might one day be measured on the same scale of significance.
"It's right up there with it," he said. "It's game-changing."
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Electric locomotive, designed and built in Erie, is drawing interest
Just a year after testing in the California desert and Central Valley, the battery-electric FLXdrive locomotive, designed to form a hybrid train when paired with diesel locomotives, is being offered for sale.
And buyers are taking notice.
Related coverage: Manufacturing employment is down in Erie County, but opportunity abounds
Orders have been placed so far by two Australian mining companies and by Canadian National's Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad, which operates in western Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio.
Hamilton said the company is in talks with several different customers and that he's hopeful more orders could be on the way.
Alan Hamilton, vice president of engineering for Wabtec, is shown in this 2017 file photo.
All about the battery
The 4,400-hp locomotive tested in California, powered by a battery pack that generated 2.4 megawatt-hours of power, did what it was designed to do, cutting emissions and reducing overall fuel consumption by 11%.
Newer models should improve on that performance. Updated battery packs now offer a capacity of 7 megawatt-hours, enough electricity to power more than 3,000 homes for a year, and enough to pull its share of a freight train.
All of that proved to be out of reach when GE Transportation's plans for a hybrid locomotive were first announced.
"From a practical standpoint, the battery wasn't up to the task for energy and reliability," Hamilton said.
Related coverage: Erie-built electric locomotive proved itself in the California desert; could it be headed to market soon?
Advances in lithium-ion batteries, led by the automotive industry, have changed the equation.
"We had this hypothesis that this (idea) was now ready for prime time, and over the course of the last couple of years we built that 1.0 version and had it tested in California," he said.
While Wabtec has been developing its own batteries, Hamilton said the biggest advances in battery technology are being made by automotive companies.
GM announced in 2021 that it had formed a partnership with Wabtec to commercialize GM's battery and hydrogen fuel cell systems for Wabtec locomotives.
Erie-based engineers made a difference
But better batteries aren't the only thing that made the development of the battery-electric locomotive possible.
Hamilton said the electric locomotive is backed by dozens of patents and the work of more than 400 Erie-based engineers who have had a hand in the project.
Developments over the years in AC traction technology and the Trip Optimizer, which uses computer modeling to increase fuel efficiency and reduce pollution, paved the way for the development of FLXdrive.
"It's all these investments over the decades that have led us to the point where we are today," Hamilton said. "It's not all new. It's something we have been thinking about for a very long time."
Similar technology also figures to be important to Wabtec in other applications.
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority has placed a $233 million order for 25 hybrid shunter locomotives that will be powered by diesel-electric powerplants similar to the concept GE Transportation announced in 2005.
The locomotives are designed especially for usage in tunnels where exhaust emissions can be detrimental to both people and the machines.
"When it goes into a tunnel it will be in zero-emissions mode," Hamilton said.
Hamilton said that Wabtec is pleased by the early interest shown by companies interested in being the so-called first movers that are looking to adopt the new technology.
A statement from J.J. Ruest, CE of CN, hints at the level of interest among railroads.
“As part of our sustainability strategy to reduce freight transportation emissions through innovation, we plan to continue to lead the sector by deploying low and no carbon technologies,” he said. "As a mover of the economy, CN is committed to playing a key role in the transition to low-carbon economy.”
Hamilton, who was involved in the development of the top-selling Evolution locomotive, said the development of the FLXdrive might one day be measured on the same scale of significance.
"It's right up there with it," he said. "It's game-changing."
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Electric locomotive, designed and built in Erie, is drawing interest
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