Alstom handed over a H3 hybrid locomotive to Volkswagen (VW) during a ceremony at Alstom’s Stendal site in Scaxony-Anhalt, Germany, where the locomotives were built. The new generation of hybrid shunting locomotive will be used at Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg plant for zero-emission freight transport, making a sustainable contribution towards reducing CO2 emissions. Alstom is in charge of maintaining the locomotives for a period of 10 years.

In comparison with conventional shunters, the new H3 shunting locomotive with its hybrid drive produces up to 50% less CO2 , while pollutant emissions overall are cut by up to 70%. Noise emissions have also been significantly reduced. The 350 kW diesel generator meets the requirements of exhaust gas standard stage IIIB2 and has been designed with future exhaust gas standards in mind.

Depending on its use, the shunting locomotive will spend between 50% and 75% of its service time in battery mode. This makes it possible to achieve zero-emission rail transport in urban areas or production halls.

Volkswagen and Alstom are already connected in a long-lasting technology-partnership on the area of hybrid shunting locomotives. In a pilot project, Volkswagen used retrofitted shunters with hybrid drive from Alstom. The operating experiences from these locos paved the way of the development of the new H3 platform.