Germany: The new locomotive, presented in Berlin this year, is a joint project of the Italian manufacturer IPE Railway Vehicles (IPE Locomotori 2000) and Nexrail, a European leasing company.
This is reportedly the first three-axle shunting locomotive which is fully battery-powered and TSI-compliant. The vehicle’s 1 MWh batteries can be recharged in about one hour. A stated power rating of 750 kW enables the locomotive to haul trainsets up to 3,000 t at a speed of 50 km/h and develop a starting tractive effort of 218 kN.
Vossloh Rolling Stock, CRRC’s subsidiary in Germany, is also delivering hybrid shunting locomotives to Nexrail. By the end of the year, the lessor plans to receive a batch of ten DE 18 Smart Hybrid shunters fitted with 1,800 kW diesel engines and traction batteries with a total capacity of 72 kW.
Bulgarian Express Service is likewise among the manufacturers with three-axle battery shunting locomotives in the portfolio. These are the ES3000 shunters which can haul trainsets up to 3,000 t at a speed of 15 km/h.
