Pittsburgh-based Wabtec Corp. has outlined how the company will use green financing instruments to accelerate the development of technologies that enable sustainable value creation for both the passenger and freight rail sectors. Its Green Finance Framework is supported by a second-party opinion from Sustainalytics, a Morningstar company, and a globally recognized provider of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance) research, ratings, and data. The framework, developed with the company’s sustainability strategy, is in line with the ICMA (International Capital Market Association) Green Bond Principles 2018, and the LMA (Loan Market Association) and APLMA Green Loan Principles 2018.
Proceeds of green bonds and loans issued by Wabtec will be allocated to promote the transition to a low-carbon transportation future and meet the sustainable transportation needs of growing cities around the world. These projects will largely target the objective of climate-change mitigation by focusing on the efficiency of freight-rail systems and public transport as well as on the provision of energy-efficient customer solution services.
Leading the Wabtec effort is Rafael Santana, President & CEO, supported by chiefs Patrick Dugan, Executive Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer; Eric Gebhardt, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer; Brian Shepard, Chief Procurement Officer; Richard Smith, Chief Information Officer; Gina Trombley, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and Chief Commercial Officer – Americas; and Nicole Theophilus, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. They will help allocate the green-financing proceeds to five eligible categories: clean transportation; eco-efficient and/or circular economy adapted products, production technologies, and processes; renewable energy; pollution prevention and control; and energy efficiency. Wabtec will report on its green asset portfolio annually.
This new initiative will have a significant impact on the sustainability of the freight rail sector since more than 20% of the world’s freight is moved by Wabtec locomotives and more than 30% of all products transported through North American shipping ports are tracked by Wabtec software. It will also enable the company to leverage its broad portfolio of locomotives, mission-critical components, advanced braking systems, PTC (Positive Train Control) systems, digital solutions for efficient operations, and lifecycle service offerings to help customers realize the most value from their investment.
A recent example of Wabtec’s innovations is the recently announced rail-industry-first FLXdrive battery-electric locomotive that delivers more than an 11% average reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions for an entire train. That is the equivalent of over 6200 gal (23,500 L) of diesel fuel saved and about 69 ton (63 t) of CO2 emissions reduced.
These impressive numbers are the result of a three-month pilot with BNSF Railway, the largest railroad in the U.S.
“BNSF is focused on continuing to reduce our environmental impact, and we’re committed to doing our part to test and assess the commercial viability of emerging technologies that reduce emissions,” said John Lovenburg, BNSF Vice President, Environmental.
The world’s first 100% battery locomotive tested in revenue service across more than 13,320 mi (21,440 km) in San Joaquin Valley, CA—a region surrounded by mountains that is classified as a non-attainment area in which air quality is worse than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
“The FLXdrive battery-electric locomotive is a defining moment for freight rail and will accelerate the industry toward low- to zero-emission locomotives,” said Wabtec CTO Gebhardt. “It builds upon the rail industry’s position as the most efficient and sustainable mode of transportation.”
The California pilot program was part of a $22.6 million grant from the California Air Resource Board awarded to Wabtec, BNSF, and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.
The demonstration, coupling 2.4 MW·h of battery storage into the mix, validated company assumptions for the potential for this next-generation technology to further drive efficiencies and greenhouse gas reductions.
The 430,000-lb (195,000-kg) FLXdrive in the pilot houses about 20,000 lithium-ion battery cells in 20 racks. An HVAC system keeps batteries at room temperature in all environments and an energy-management system to monitor battery health.
The battery pack supplies energy to all four powered axles of the six-axle locomotive. The duration of its full 4400-hp (3280-kW) output is 30-40 min, with a maximum speed of about 75 mph (120 km/h).
The battery locomotive charged at the rail-yard wayside charging station, Stockton, CA, and recharged during the trip through regenerative braking. The FLXdrive manages the overall train energy flow and distribution through its Trip Optimizer system, an intelligent cruise control programmed through AI (artificial intelligence) to respond to every twist and grade of the track in the most energy-efficient way possible.
Wabtec’s will next build a second-generation locomotive with a battery capacity of more than 6 MW·h, a level of energy that can reduce a locomotive’s fuel consumption and carbon emissions by up to 30% while hauling several thousand tons of freight in a mile-long train. A fleet of second-generation FLXdrives will be commercialized and could enter supply chain routes in the next few years.
The next version of FLXdrive technology will have an opportunity of “putting the industry on the cusp of a once-in-a-generation improvement in energy savings and emission reductions,” added Gebhardt.
For Wabtec’s goal to develop the next generation of zero-emission locomotives, it believes it has a clear path to power new locomotives—and repower existing locomotives—with batteries, hydrogen internal combustion engines, and hydrogen fuel cells. It is part of Wabtec’s vision for the rail industry to play a key role in building a clean energy economy and reduce carbon emissions globally by up to 300 ton (272 t) per year.
