UK's first hydrogen-powered locomotive undergoes trials

Designed and built by engineering students and staff at Birmingham University, the prototype locomotive — part of a competition led by the Institute of Mechanical Engineering — is the first of its kind to operate in the UK.

The narrow-gauge locomotive is a hybrid design, combining a hydrogen fuel cell and lead-acid batteries.

The fuel cell is used to power the permanent-magnet electric motors and to charge the batteries, with the batteries helping to meet the peak power demands when accelerating under load.

The team, led by Stephen Kent and advised by Dr Stuart Hillmansen, told The Engineer that the fuel cell is rated at 1.1kW and the four 90 amp-hour lead-acid batteries can provide a further 13kW.

‘This is more than enough for the motors installed on the locomotive, which are rated at a combined 4.4kW,’ the team said via email. ‘It is possible to run the motors at double their maximum rated current for short durations, as demonstrated at the Stapleford Miniature Railway, which can be very useful when accelerating a train from a standing start, for example. So, in effect, the locomotive can provide a peak power output of 8.8kW.’