CPKC Orders Ballard Fuel Cell Engines For North American Locomotives

Feb 25, 2025 - 6 months ago

Ballard Power Systems has announced the signing of a new Long Term Supply Agreement with Canadian Pacific Kansas City, including the initial supply of 98 fuel cell engines for use in the North American freight rail market.

Each engine has a nameplate of 200 kW, totaling approximately 20 megawatts (MW) of fuel cell power. Deliveries of all 98 engines are expected in 2025.

The LTSA builds on an existing partnership between Ballard and CPKC, which started in 2021, and has included delivery of approximately 10 MW of fuel cell engines to date and the successful integration of Ballard fuel cell engines into hydrogen-powered locomotives for regular switching and freight service applications in Alberta, Canada. The fuel cell engines purchased from Ballard will support the expansion of CPKC’s hydrogen locomotive program.

“We are thrilled with the opportunity to further develop our strategic relationship with CPKC to decarbonize not only their locomotive fleet but also participate in the electrification of freight rail across North America,” said Randy MacEwen, President and CEO of Ballard Power. “This order represents a step forward in CPKC’s decarbonization vision and confidence in hydrogen fuel cells as a potential long-term replacement of diesel engines, providing the environmental benefits along with long range, fast refueling, heavy payloads, and cold weather operation.”

Prototype diesel freight locomotives retrofitted with hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen storage and battery packs have undergone various testing at CPKC since 2022. CPKC currently has three hydrogen locomotives in operation.

Source: Ballard