HOHHOT -- The first China-developed hydrogen fuel cell hybrid locomotive started a trial run on Friday on a railway line for coal transport in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The hydrogen energy locomotive project was jointly launched by the Inner Mongolia subsidiary of the State Power Investment Corporation Limited (SPIC), CRRC Datong Co., Ltd., and the Hydrogen Energy Co., Ltd. of SPIC.

Compared with traditional diesel locomotives, the new-energy locomotive is expected to cut carbon emissions by about 96,000 tonnes a year running on the 627-kilometer coal railway linking the Baiyinhua coal mine in Inner Mongolia with the port of Jinzhou in Northeast China's Liaoning province.

Li Lingtao, deputy chief engineer with CRRC Datong Co., Ltd., said that the hydrogen fuel cell hybrid locomotive has a design speed of 80 km per hour. It can run continuously for 24.5 hours when fully loaded with fuel and its maximum traction load on straight roads reaches 5,000 tonnes.

The new-energy locomotive has broad market prospects for use in large factories, mines and ports.

With the emission of water, the hydrogen-fueled locomotive can realize zero pollution during operation.