The 2.3MWh ZEN PLUS will provide energy storage for a 100% battery-electric switching locomotive, according to Forsee Power, a French company that is said to specialize in “smart battery systems for sustainable electric transport (light vehicles, off-highway vehicles, buses, trucks and trains).” The battery packs will be produced at its Columbus, Ohio-area facility.
The ZEN PLUS high-energy battery system is available in five versions from 74 to 84 kWh, Forsee Power said. “Composed of lithium-ion NMC VDA modules, the battery systems deliver an excellent energy density of 180 Wh/kg,” it noted, allowing for a “long” 5,000-cycle life.
Foresee Power reported that it is working with Florida-based IRT to retrofit a switcher for a U.S. customer’s private yard in summer 2025; the customer was not named. The switcher, it said, “will provide significantly reduced operating expenses, increase in-service availability, and maximize customer productivity.”
In 2024, IRT began a project to convert two diesel-electric switchers to lithium-ion battery-electric power for Palmetto Railways, a division of the South Carolina Department of Commerce and Railway Age’s 2015 Short Line Railroad of the Year.
IRT is described as “a rail solutions provider offering its proprietary retrofit electrification technology to convert diesel locomotives into electric ones.” According to IRT, its ATLAS (Advanced Technology Li-Ion Adaptive System) technology is a “turnkey, scalable propulsion and control package customized to the unique needs of customer operations.” Paired with “automated, high-speed charging,” it added, “ATLAS-powered locomotives maintain 24/7 availability for its operators in an economically beneficial package.”
IRT was established in 2019 and is said to have “a rapidly expanding list of customers, which includes Fortune 500 companies, ports, industries, and short line railroads. IRT works with its growing nationwide network of locomotive remanufacturers (ATLAS Authorized Installers) and can also provide ATLAS kits directly to customers for in-house remanufacture.”
