One picture is worth a thousand words
Around 4 years ago with support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 784620 DiGas team kicked off our flagship project “Novel dual-fuel system for modernization of air-polluting diesel locomotives to clean and efficient gas operation” (NYSAMRT: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/784620). Our mission was crystal clear – to promote the clean and sustainable operation of locomotives by introducing NYSMART dual fuel system for modernization of diesel locomotives which would allow displacing air-polluting diesel fuel with clean-burning natural and renewable gas. Once installed on the locomotive, NYSMART system would deliver a substantial reduction in local pollutants and emissions like Particulate Matter and NOx.
The mission was not only important for us. It was important to our society and the cities we live and work in since it is a well-known fact that in urban areas, harmful automotive (including locomotives) emissions are responsible for 50 to 90 % of air pollution in the form of different pollutants including Particulate Matter and NOx. 9 million premature deaths worldwide—16% of all deaths—were linked to pollution in 2015. This is three times more than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined.
We were propelled by these facts and knew that we can make a difference with our NYSMART system since 70% of the European diesel locomotives are at least 30 years old which makes them one of, if not the most, polluting transportation applications in our cities. Before and during the project, the emission reduction was only a speechless figure which we all strived to achieve and worked very hard towards the goal. However, as the project results were bringing in the testing data and pictures, the figures transformed into pictures and pictures into tangible results undoubtfully revealing the real purpose of our work at our fingertips. The picture beneath shows the difference between the tailpipe exhaust of the same locomotive working in diesel-only mode versus the dual-fuel mode. The dark stuff is the third largest human-made source of toxic emissions that contribute to a significant negative impact on human health and global air pollution.
Photo from emission testing of a retrofitted diesel locomotive with NYSMART duel-fuel system
As they say, one picture is worth a thousand words. In some cases, one commitment is saving a thousand lives. DiGas is committed to address the total addressable market of more than 70% of global railway locomotives and make this picture a reality for many many locomotives and cities to come. Follow us and stay tuned.
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