The three 100% battery-powered FLXdrive locomotives will be used by the Carajás Railway (EFC), which operates the world's largest iron ore train, consisting of 330 wagons carrying 45,000 tonnes. Today, three to four diesel locomotives pull the train. When delivered, the FLXdrives will join the diesel locomotives to form Brazil's first hybrid train, pulling the train 140 kilometres uphill in Açailândia, in the state of Maranhão, where fuel consumption is highest. The FLXdrives will replace the two diesel locomotives, known as "dynamic helpers", currently used to pull the train uphill.
Wabtec will build the FLXdrive locomotives at its plant in Contagem, in the state of Minas Gerais. Delivery of the locomotives is scheduled for 2026.
he FLXdrive locomotive's energy management system recharges the batteries as the train brakes along the track. "This is what we call the regenerative energy generated by dynamic braking. Today, this energy is lost when a conventional locomotive brakes. In the downhill sections, we will be able to recharge the batteries without having to stop the train," explains Alexandre Silva, manager of Vale's Powershift programme.
It is estimated that the FLXdrive locomotives will save 25 million litres of diesel per year, taking into account the consumption of all the railway's trains using the dynamic helper. This saving would reduce carbon emissions by approximately 63,000 tonnes, equivalent to the emissions of approximately 14,000 passenger cars per year.
