CN, Progress Rail, REG Launch Renewable Fuels Testing
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
On Feb. 1, CN started renewable fuels testing on the Bessemer & Lake Erie (B&LE) portion of its network, which operates in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
CN, in partnership with Progress Rail and Renewable Energy Group (REG), earlier this month reported starting “100% renewable fuel testing in Pennsylvania.”
In a Feb. 2 Twitter post, the Class I railroad announced the group was taking “an exciting step towards our goal to reduce carbon emissions” with the launch of testing. CN; Progress Rail, a Caterpillar Company; and REG in November teamed to assess “high-level renewable fuel blends including both biodiesel and renewable diesel in support of the companies’ sustainability goals.”
“On February 1, locomotives were fueled with a blend of 100% renewable fuels (mix of biodiesel and renewable diesel) on the Bessemer & Lake Erie (B&LE) portion of the CN network (operating in Pennsylvania and Ohio),” CN told Railway Age on Feb. 10. “Tests will be performed over a period of approximately two years, as one objective is for CN and Progress Rail to better understand the long-term durability and operational impacts of renewable fuels on locomotives, especially in cold weather. Renewable Energy Group (REG) will supply high-percentage blends of biomass-based fuel, including both biodiesel (FAME) and renewable diesel (HDRD) for testing.”
The railroad reported that “[t]his is a first-of-its-kind long-term durability and performance test in North America around bio-based fuels, as up until this point, there have only been emissions tests performed on a small sample of locomotives.”
In a related sustainability development, CN is acquiring a Wabtec FLXdrive battery locomotive.
