The American automaker General Motors announced Tuesday that it has entered into a partnership to adapt its electric and hydrogen battery systems to locomotives manufactured by the Wabtec group.
Read also: General Motors confirms its forecast for 2021 despite the shortage of chips
“The rail industry is on the cusp of a sustainable transformation with the introduction of batteries and hydrogen to power locomotive fleets
,
”
Rafael Santana, CEO of Wabtec, commented in a statement.
“Our FLXdrive locomotive, the world's first 100% battery-powered locomotive, has proven that carbon emissions can be reduced by up to 30% when operating at 6 MWh,”
said the manager.
“But we can't stop there. By working with GM on Ultium battery and Hydrotec hydrogen fuel cell technologies, we can accelerate the rail industry's transition to decarbonization and zero-emission locomotives
, ”he added.
Focus on electric vehicles
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding, the financial terms of which they did not specify.
The fact that Wabtec chooses GM's electric batteries and hydrogen fuel cells
"once again validates our technology and demonstrates its versatility,"
said Mark Reuss, an executive at the automaker.
The group has recently focused on the development of electric vehicles and aims to no longer sell diesel or gasoline cars by 2035. Wabtec will bring its expertise in energy management and optimization systems to develop a solution specific to locomotives, which tow heavy loads.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/H7U7FJNUZBG6BPL5PZCMGC6EUY.jpg)