In order to make port operations more sustainable and climate-friendly, converting shunting operations to renewable energies would be an important step. In the research project "sH2unter@ports", six companies and research institutes have joined forces to investigate the possible uses of alternative fuels in shunting locomotives. They recently presented their results to a large expert audience at the Hamburg Port Authority, the project partner.

The railway is a comparatively climate-friendly means of transport. Since the trains are already supplied with electricity via overhead lines on many routes, a complete switch to green electricity from renewable energies is in principle possible. This does not apply to shunting locomotives in the ports. So that they can also travel in areas without overhead lines, they are mainly powered by diesel. In order to achieve the climate targets, they would have to be converted to climate-friendly drives. But that is not so easy. "The conversion and new construction of shunting locomotives with alternative drive technologies requires a precise assessment of the operating conditions, the technical possibilities and the existing infrastructure in order to identify the right solution," says Prof. Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Wagner vom Berg, project manager responsible for the Smart Mobility Institute at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences.

The "sH2unter@ports" project investigated alternatives to the use of diesel in shunting operations. The question was whether the locomotives could be operated efficiently with hydrogen in the future. First, the researchers equipped a conventional locomotive powered by hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) with measuring sensors. This made it possible to record the actual performance profile of a shunting locomotive in the port areas of Hamburg and Bremerhaven and use it as a basis for the alternative drive technologies to be developed. "This is determined, among other things, by the total weight of the attached loads, the acceleration during operation and the profile of the route network in the ports. The starting energy increases many times over even on small hills. In addition, the type of use plays an important role, as the operational process must not be disrupted by long or frequent refueling processes or charging times," explains project employee Senad Hasanspahic.

The researchers focused on hydrogen. They found that it represents a promising solution option in various areas of application, both in operations and in infrastructure. One advantage: existing shunting locomotives do not have to be replaced, but can be converted to hydrogen drives, i.e. H2 combustion engines in combination with generator battery systems. This would make sense both economically and ecologically. "Rising costs for fossil fuels and CO2 emissions must be taken into account when considering economic viability. In the long term, converting can be cheaper than continuing to operate diesel locomotives," says Uta Kühne from the Smart Mobility Institute. In the medium term, however, there must be concepts for the construction of new, climate-neutral, efficient shunting locomotives that have fuel cell drives or a combination of overhead lines and batteries. The development of such locomotives can be carried out following the project and on the basis of the results by the project partner ALSTOM Lokomotiven Service GmbH. In this respect, the project has made an important contribution to necessary series production and future climate-friendly port operations.

In order to check whether hydrogen is the most efficient solution, drives with overhead lines and batteries as well as operation with HVO were also examined and compared. The basis for all analyses was extensive series of measurements in the seaports of Hamburg and Bremerhaven. HVO has been used as an alternative to diesel in Bremerhaven's overseas port since 2023. Since combustion releases CO2 that was previously absorbed from the atmosphere by plants, this fuel is considered climate-neutral. However, it is not a long-term solution. "One advantage of HVO is that it can be used quickly without extensive conversion of the locomotives. However, since the provision of this fuel is only possible to a limited extent without competition for space and resources, it is a sensible but limited in time and scope bridging technology," says Prof. Wagner vom Berg. In principle, however, replacing diesel-powered shunting locomotives with alternative drives should be seen as the only alternative when defossilizing the ports.

The research and development project "sH2unter@ports" was funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport as part of the National Innovation Program for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology. The funding guideline is coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by the Project Management Agency Jülich (PtJ). The total project volume amounts to over 1.2 million euros.

The project team consists of the locomotive manufacturer (Alstom), the railway operating company (evb), the Smart Mobility Institute of Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences, the Institute for Energy and Circular Economy (IEKrW) of Bremen University of Applied Sciences, as well as the integration partners for the port of Bremerhaven (bremenports) and the port of Hamburg (Hamburg Port Authority).

Further information about the project can be found at https://sh2unter.com .

Studying, teaching and researching with enthusiasm - that is what Bremerhaven University stands for. In more than 20 practical and innovative courses, around 3,000 students benefit from close cooperation with the regional economy and modern teaching and learning approaches. The numerous research activities of the "University by the Sea" have already received numerous awards and support sustainable developments in the region and beyond.

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