Namibia's hydrogen-diesel locomotive engine fires up for the first time
Why it matters: direct progress on a standing watch-list item: the dual-fuel engine has now run, and the whole rig is on track for its early-November move onto Namibia's own railway.
Belgium's CMB.Tech has run the first start-up of its BeHydro dual-fuel engine on a TransNamib locomotive being converted at Traxtion Rail's Rosslyn facility in South Africa. The 1.6 MW engine idled for 30 minutes while technicians checked starting, fuel, oil and coolant systems. In BeHydro's combustion cycle, hydrogen is injected on the intake stroke and a small diesel pilot charge ignites the mixture under compression, a design CMB.Tech says cuts emissions by 60 to 90 per cent against straight diesel. The hydrogen storage container has now passed factory acceptance testing, with the rig being readied to move to Namibia in early November for the next testing phase, running the 414km Walvis Bay to Windhoek corridor.
Source: RollingStockWorld, corroborated by Railways Africa NewsXpress, 28-30 September 2026.