MTU Hybrid-Ready PowerPacks For IR Class 22000 DMUs

Rolls-Royce is to supply its very first batch production of MTU PowerPacks which are prepared for future use as hybrid traction units: Iarnród Éireann, the national railway operator of the Republic of Ireland, has ordered 41 of these MTU Hybrid-ready PowerPacks.

Fitted with MTU 6H 1800 R86 engines, the PowerPacks comply with the EU Stage V emissions directives and each delivers 375 kW from the diesel engine as well as 150 kW from the electrical machine. Delivery is to commence in 2021, and the new PowerPacks are to power the Hyundai Rotem-built Class 22000 DMUs from late 2022. At a later stage, yet to be decided Rolls-Royce could equip these PowerPacks with batteries, turning them into fully-fledged MTU Hybrid PowerPacks. 

This new order is a new milestone of the close partnership between Rolls-Royce and IR in recent years: A total of 234 MTU PowerPacks have been powering the Class 22000 DMUs for many years. In 2018, the partners agreed to refurbish MTU PowerPacks with new transmissions to achieve fuel savings of almost 20%. That same year, IR announced its intention to test MTU PowerPacks for the EU Stage V emissions standard.

In a second step, these are now to be converted to Hybrid PowerPacks starting next year. Tests of the EU Stage V PowerPacks are scheduled to get underway this August, following which all nine PowerPacks will be converted to Hybrid PowerPacks and commence operation at the end of 2021. IR will also explore options to convert its fleet to hybrid operation at a later stage once the test runs have been successfully completed.