U. S. Steel Deploys Two Battery-Electric Locomotives Thanks to PRCC Member Company Innovative Rail Technologies

Battery-Electric Locomotive deployed by U. S. Steel (Photo credit: U. S. Steel)

Funder: Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, U. S. Steel

Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Fleet or Project type: Battery-Electric Powered Locomotives

Narrative:

Starting in 2023, U. S. Steel introduced two new battery-powered locomotives at its Clairton Coke Works and Edgar Thompson facilities.  Innovative Rail Technologies (IRT) partnered with U. S. Steel to bring the cutting-edge locomotives to Western Pennsylvania, a first for the area and for the steel industry. The new battery-electric locomotives at Clairton can often run two-three days without recharging; with regenerative braking of the locomotive at Edgar Thompson, the locomotive’s brake shoes only need to be replaced every six months instead of every other day. Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities (PRCC) was responsible for connecting IRT’s Founding Partner, Ira Dorfman, with U. S. Steel, which began the relationship that resulted in the project coming to fruition.

The decision to incorporate two new electric locomotives was made due to growing challenges with existing switcher locomotives. U. S. Steel’s switcher locomotives were aging, increasingly unreliable and polluting. Switcher locomotives can use between 20,000 and 40,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year. In U. S. Steel’s case, replacing one of its diesel locomotives with the zero-emission IRT battery-electric locomotive was equivalent to removing 7,000 passenger cars from the road.

Kurt Barshick, Vice President of U.S. Steel Mon Valley Works said, “The future of transportation is electric, and today U. S. Steel’s future really is on track.” State Senator Jim Brewster also further pushed for the steel industry to speak up about its success in carbon reduction.​​ The success of the project was also celebrated in 2024 at PRCC’s annual Odyssey Day.

Outputs & Outcomes:

The Clairton locomotive went into service in November of 2023, and the Edgar Thompson locomotive went into service in May of 2024. Additionally, state and federal funding is still available for future improvements. According to the US EPA Diesel Emissions Quantifier Benchmarking, removing one diesel switcher locomotive each at the Edgar Thompson and Clairton plants will result in an annual PM2.5 reduction opportunity of .385 tons, and an annual public health benefit of $800,000. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection also noted that the two U. S. Steel locomotives have been the most impactful NOx-reduction program it has ever funded. The battery-powered locomotive project received the Pennsylvania Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence in 2024.

With the introduction of these locomotives, this is U. S. Steel’s latest step in an ongoing effort to reduce emissions. Clairton Coke Works plant manager Mark Jeffrey says that the Mon Valley region will see a significant reduction in local pollution that was previously generated by diesel locomotives. The locomotives are prominently labeled “zero emissions.”

With the success of its partnership with U. S. Steel, IRT continues its efforts to grow the electric locomotive fleet. “We are extremely grateful to PRCC for introducing us to the management of U. S. Steel,” stated IRT’s Ira Dorfman. “The relationship is flourishing. It would not have happened without PRCC’s help,” he concluded.