Tests were designed to evaluate the locomotive's performance in shunting operations, which are typical tasks at CIECH Cargo's siding. Various train set configurations were examined, including fully-loaded trains arriving across the country, shunting movements on the siding, and moving empty trains post-unloading to the Inowroclaw Chemia station. During the tests, the locomotive pulled a 43-car train weighing over 2,200 tonnes at 10 km/h.
The locomotive (SM42-6Dn), manufactured by PESA Bydgoszcz and tested by Ciech Cargo, is equipped with tanks holding 175 kg of hydrogen, two 85 kW fuel cells, a battery, and four traction motors.
A special team within the CIECH Group, led by Kempski, is assessing the viability of using hydrogen technology for shunting movements at Inowrocław and Janikowo sidings.
CIECH Cargo’s fleet includes modern electric locomotives like the Alstom TRAXX, Newag Dragon, and Pesa Gama, but also older diesel shunting locomotives that the company now intends to replace with zero-emission locomotives. Approximately 80% of CIECH Cargo's services support the activities of CIECH Group, which produces chemical products such as soda ash, baking soda, salt, polyester, agricultural and glass products.
