Ireland’s national railway network operator Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) has signed a contract with Latvia’s Digas to retrofit a diesel locomotive to run on hydrogen in an internal combustion engine (ICE).

Under the €1.5m ($1.6m) project, Iarnród Éireann will provide a 071 Class Diesel locomotive to Digas which will manufacture, deliver and install the hydrogen ICE conversion kit, allowing the train’s existing engine to run on the energy carrier.

Requiring “minimal changes”, the project is hoped to showcase a practical and cost-effective way to decarbonise existing diesel locomotive fleets.

Phase 1 of the project will get underway in 2024, testing the hydrogen engine in stationary mode to check power and emissions output, while Phase 2 will follow in 2025 focusing on service trial of the locomotive.

The rail operator has suggested, that if successful, the trail could pave the way for more of its 071 locomotives to be converted to hydrogen.