Wabtec’s tickets to low carbon transport

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 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

fuel savings) and solutions that will provide an 8 per cent savings in fuel within the decade. Customers can also take existing products and upgrade the engine to achieve significant fuel savings, cost savings and CO2 reductions,” McMillan said.

Wabtec also recently signed a definitive agreement to acquire Nordco, a leading North American supplier of new, rebuilt and used maintenance-of-way equipment, which has a broad product and service portfolio including mobile railcar movers and ultrasonic rail flaw detection technologies.

Wabtec will expand its installed base and accelerate growth across Nordco’s innovative product portfolio both in the North American market and internationally, while also driving increased value creation for customers and shareholders.

The Nordco family of companies provides an extensive selection of products and services with zero emissions priorities that enable railrelated industries to build, improve, maintain and inspect their track infrastructure and reposition rolling stock.

“For example, the products include a zero-emissions shunter in the NVX Series,” McMillan said.

The shuttle wagon includes enhanced rail stability, better performance in poor weather conditions, improved tyre life and the ability to navigate up to 70 degree track curvature, and is the only such unit which is fully electrically-driven.

And all the while, Wabtec’s research into more sustainable innovations proceeds at a furious pace.

For example last year, Wabtec and General Motors collaborated to develop and commercialise GM’s Ultium battery technology and Hydrotec hydrogen fuel cell systems for Wabtec locomotives.

Wabtec brought its expertise in energy management and systems optimisation to develop a solution for heavy haul locomotives that takes full advantage of GM’s advanced technologies.

The Hydrotec hydrogen fuel cell power cubes are compact and easy to package, and can be used in a wide range of applications, including locomotives.

This was followed up soon after by Wabtec’s liaison with Genesee & Wyoming, the US’ largest owner of short line and regional freight railroads, to pursue zero-emission battery and hydrogen freight strategies, as well as increase rail utilisation across North America.

“By 2030, Wabtec will see a 92 per cent reduction in emissions through hydrogen technology innovation,” McMillan said.

When it comes to digital solutions, Wabtec recognises that technologies available today can deliver a 22 per cent reduction in fuel usage and emissions, enabling Wabtec customers to save more than 400 million gallons of diesel fuel and reduce CO2 emissions by about four million tonnes.

One instance is the company’s Port Optimizer, a cloud-based software solution for port users that enhances supply chain performance and predictability by delivering real time data-driven insights through a single portal to partners across the supply chain.

Integrating data from across the port ecosystem, combining machine learning and deep domain expertise, it helps the supply chain monitor and responds to dynamic conditions, align people and resources, and proactively communicate across functions — enabling maximum port throughput and delivery performance.

Then there is Expert-on-Alert, which provides centralised monitoring of locomotive health status and performance in real time.

“Locomotives transmit data to the Wabtec monitoring and diagnostic centre, where a team of experts analyses control system status and performance data,” McMillan said.

“This enables Wabtec to determine the root cause of failures while locomotives are in-transit, providing timely maintenance and repair recommendations.”

Meanwhile, the Locomotive Interface Gateway (LIG) is a network communications and interface device that provides locomotive control-system data to third-party applications.

The LIG is designed with an Open Message Interface which allows applications to access control-system data while providing locomotive system isolation to ensure the control system is not adversely impacted by third-party applications.

“The real-time parameters available from the LIG can be used to perform real-time health and status monitoring of a locomotive as well as real-time assessment of locomotive operator performance,” Mc Millan said.

Ultimately, Wabtec is leading the charge to create a safer and more efficient rail network.

“A safer and more efficient rail network helps our customers reduce a significant operating cost — diesel fuel — which in turn reduces greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution,” McMillan said.

“We believe it’s important to listen to our key stakeholders and focus on areas where Wabtec can enable the most meaningful impact for our customers, communities, and the world.

“There is always more we can do, and we are committed to mitigating the impacts of climate change within our products and operations and doing more to create a diverse workforce and empower our people to bring the best innovations to every customer we serve.”

Wendy McMillan at the Wabtec site in Erie, Pennsylvania.