POLISH manufacturer Pesa has secured funding to develop and build a bi-mode hydrogen- and electrically powered passenger demonstrator vehicle.
The project is expected to cost Zlotys 108m ($US 29.3m) and has received Zlotys 36m in funding from Poland’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The agreement was signed by Pesa and the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFEP) on February 13.
Under the project, Pesa will develop a bi-mode train, which will be equipped with a pantograph along with hydrogen fuel cells and batteries. Pesa will develop technical documentation and build a demonstration vehicle, targeting Poland’s regional network where an estimated 40% of lines are reliant on diesel traction.
The vehicle will also feature a control system which will select the most energy efficient traction source depending on the profile of the route, reducing the consumption of hydrogen fuel on sections where overhead lines are available.
“We are supporting a project that truly pushes the technological boundaries of Polish rail,” says Dorota Zawadzka-Stępniak, president of the NFEP board. “This is the first solution in the country combining hydrogen propulsion with the ability to be powered from the overhead contact line, making it flexible and ready for implementation in a variety of infrastructure conditions.”
Locomotive project
Pesa is already working on developing hydrogen traction solutions for shunting locomotives, securing approval for the SM42-6Dn in June 2023. NFEP and Pesa signed an agreement in September 2025 to provide grant funding to support the construction of hydrogen locomotive production facilities covering an area of 15,000m2 at its factory in Bydgoszcz.
Pesa is expecting to manufacture 25 hydrogen locomotives at the facility, describing the units as “the first mass-produced shunting locomotives in Europe powered by green or low-emission hydrogen.” The locomotives can also be equipped with an autonomous driving and obstacle detection systems, Pesa says.
“Since 2019, we have been consistently building a hydrogen ecosystem,” says Robert Tafiłowski, vice-president of Pesa Bydgoszcz’s management board. “Our shunting locomotive has already passed testing and certification, generating interest in Sweden, the KGHM Group, and Orlen, among others.”
