Sustainability Solutions
The tickets to low carbon transport
Wabtec’s FLXdrive technology has been taken up by several mining companies, including giants BHP, Roy Hill and Rio Tinto.
The Wabtec sustainability train, figuratively and literally, is powering on along the tracks. As the global leader in rail technology, equipment, systems and battery-powered locomotives for rail freight and transit, Wabtec is accelerating the future of transportation, delivering zero-emission rail systems as customers demand clean technology to reduce their emissions. For more than 150 years, the company has looked for ways to improve safety, and make a positive impact on people and the planet. It recognises that today, the scope of sustainability requires broader consideration across the environmental, social and economic landscape, so ways must be found to enable efficiency, innovation and human connection. In its landmark 2021 Sustainability Report, Wabtec President and Chief Executive Officer Rafael Santana emphasised that sustainability priorities were embedded into the company’s governance framework, leadership decisionmaking, and commitment to supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. “Having a dynamic ESG strategy is critical to living up to those goals, and clear, defined metrics make it easy for us and others to measure our progress,” he said. “No industry, including the global rail industry, remained untouched by the concurrent challenges of the COVID pandemic, social and racial justice movement, economic slowdown, global transportation and supply chain disruptions, and increased climate volatility. “Climate change is an undeniable reality, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions must be both an urgent short- and long-term priority for everyone in the public and private sector. As a leading transportation manufacturer and supplier of critical technology to the transit rail and industrial sector, we are well positioned to play an important role in shaping the clean energy economy. “Today, rail represents the cleanest, most energy-efficient, and safest mode of moving freight and people on land. As global demands for growth increase, current trends indicate that freight and passenger rail activity will more than double by 2050, leading to an increased
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demand for sustainable transportation of people and goods. These converging forces highlight the critical interplay between market dynamics, the need for decarbonization, and Wabtec’s business strategy.” Santana said Wabtec’s vision was to accelerate the shift to alternative clean energy solutions through zero-emission batteryelectric and hydrogen-powered locomotives, aiming to expand the use of freight rail and enabling the elimination of more than 300 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually across the global transportation network, reducing road congestion in cities, and making transportation significantly safer for everyone. THE YEAR OF SUSTAINABILITY EXECUTION Rail Express caught up with Wabtec Senior Regional Vice President, South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Wendy McMillan — fresh from a trip to Wabtec’s head office in Pittsburgh in the US, as well as Fort Worth, Erie and Grove City — to discuss how the company continues to fine-tune its technology-driven solutions to achieve a netzero emissions future. “Sustainability and ESG are priorities for everyone in the industry,” she said. “Everyone is strongly focused on what this means for them, and there’s been a lot in the press put forward by some leading lights. “But actions speak louder than words; this is the year of execution, and people doubling down on that strategy and what it means for them and making those decision points. “We’re certainly seeing that with our customer base and partners, getting to that next level of granularity, and rolling out how they want to be part of the solution very quickly and adopting that technology.” And this is where Wabtec has already taken the lead, and continues to do so. The company’s portfolio centres around freight rail, which fuels the world’s economy, connecting regions and cities, moving goods across the nation, to put food on tables and products in stores for purchase.
“Freight rail is the backbone of economic activity — and by converting diesel-powered locomotives to an alternative energy source like batteries or hydrogen fuel cells, we can eliminate up to 2700 tonnes of CO2 per year,” McMillan said. “Wabtec has a clear vision of cleaner and greener freight. Our Freight 2030 vision seeks to expand the use of freight rail, accelerate the reduction of more than 100 million tonnes of GHG emissions per year, reduce road congestion in our cities and make transportation safer for everyone.” Indeed, Wabtec’s FLXdrive technology, which can transition diesel-powered locomotives to battery power and drastically reduce emissions, has been a major success story, being taken up by several mining companies in WA, including giants BHP, Roy Hill and Rio Tinto. And interest has been so high that they could soon feature in the Eastern States. “We are in discussions with a number of customers all up and down the East Coast,” McMillan said. “The specs are different — the gauge and the type of mining operations don’t mirror over to the East, so we are looking at adapting the locomotives, and using the local engineering requirements.” Wabtec’s engine upgrade solutions are renowned, such as the FDL Advantage: a fuel-saving package for its FDL locomotive platform as well as a complete control system replacement. The FDL engine has been in production since the 1950s and operates in heavy-haul applications throughout the world. The FDL Advantage was an upgrade to the existing FDL engine that provides significant fuel savings at the Tier 1+ emission level. It features improved air handling and a highpressure common rail fuel system which offers improved injection control, allowing for improved tuning of the engine. “The next phase of upgrades is focused on the Evolution Series engine product line (EVO) which will feature electric turbo (5 per cent
