Orlen is testing the first hydrogen locomotive in Poland. She just had a ride. “There was a lot of mockery”

On Sunday, September 17, the hydrogen locomotive purchased by Orlen from PESA Bydgoszcz traveled from Gdynia to Hel for the first time. The SM42-6Dn shunting locomotive has traction parameters similar to diesel locomotives, but is completely emission-free. “The locomotive’s tanks can be loaded with 175 kg of hydrogen, which allows for 24-hour operation. The traction system consists of 2 85kW cells, batteries and 4 engines,” says Mariusz Marszałkowski, editor-in-chief of polon.pl.

A video from the trip to Hel was also posted on X (formerly Twitter) by Adrian Izydorek from nakolei.pl. “There was a lot of mockery that the Polish hydrogen product would not work. We are currently going to Hel with hydrogen,” we read in the attached entry.

“We arrived in Hel. The hydrogen locomotive @pesabydgoszcz managed – it was 90 km/h on the route” – we read in the entry by Jakub Rösler from the TransportPubliczny and Rynek Kolejowy websites.

Let us recall that the Polish company PESA received permission from the president of the Office of Rail Transport to operate the first hydrogen locomotive relatively recently, in June this year. As Ignacy Góra, President of UTK, emphasized, this event is also important because currently neither Polish nor European regulations specify the requirements for hydrogen propulsion in railway vehicles. The office hopes that thanks to this decision, the number of hydrogen vehicles on the tracks will increase, which will be an environmentally friendly change (more information in our material: ).

Orlen focuses on hydrogen. We are planning a network of refueling stations in Poland and abroad

According to the strategy, by 2030 Orlen is to allocate PLN 7 billion and 400 million for investments in hydrogen technologies based on renewable energy sources and technologies for processing municipal waste into hydrogen.

“Thanks to this investment, we will gain the competences needed to prepare a comprehensive offer for the supply of hydrogen fuel for the railway market. At the same time, we are investing in the development of zero-emission public transport by building further publicly available hydrogen refueling stations in Poland and abroad,” said Orlen President Daniel Obajtek.

Ultimately, the hydrogen-powered shunting locomotive will operate on the siding of the Production Plant in Płock. The contract concluded between Orlen and PESA Bydgoszcz covers a four-year service package, which will include, among others: standard inspections and possible repairs. The capacity of the locomotive’s tanks is more than five times larger than in hydrogen-powered buses and amounts to 175 kilograms.

Orlen and Lotos Kolej plan to ultimately hydrogenize the locomotive fleet at the Production Plant in Płock, as well as in other locations. In the longer term, the company focuses on the development of the hydrogen sales market and the construction of a network of stations for refueling railway vehicles with hydrogen fuel. In addition, the company plans to develop a network of publicly available hydrogen refueling stations in Poland and abroad.

In 2021, an automotive-quality hydrogen production hub was launched, from which hydrogen fuel is supplied to a pilot hydrogen refueling station in Krakow, where hydrogen buses from various manufacturers are tested. Drivers in Poland will be able to refuel their cars with hydrogen at stations in Poznań and Katowice this year. Further ORLEN hydrogen stations in Bielsko-Biała, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Wałbrzych, Kraków, Włocławek, Gdynia, Piła and Warsaw will be put into operation by mid-2025.