The project will finish this autumn, after which the locomotive will be restored to its original state. Alstom has conducted the first run of a shunting locomotive, converted from diesel to hydrogen propulsion, in Salzgitter, Germany. The initiative aims to decarbonise shunting operations by using hydrogen for direct, CO 2 -free combustion in locomotive engines. In Germany, about 1,000 diesel shunting locomotives are in use, with around 4,000 across Europe. VPS managing director Dr Johannes Dreier said: “This test deployment of a locomotive with an engine converted to direct hydrogen combustion fits perfectly into the ongoing transformation within the Salzgitter Group.