The mountains accompany the passage of the small solar train that advances almost silently through the narrow valley of the Quebrada de Humahuaca, in northern Argentina.
The innovative train manufactured in the Chinese city of Tangshan began operating this Wednesday.
The top of each of the two carriages It takes six lithium batteries, with a range of up to 120 kilometers. These are connected to a charger the size of a giant refrigerator that is partly powered by solar energy at the terminal stations.
“It is a solar train because the power to the charger is provided by the solar parks that are located at the tip of the province,” Emiliano Rodríguez, coordinator of the Execution Unit of the Quebrada Train, tells BBC Mundo.
The glass roof contrasts with the aridity of the Jujuy plateau. The huge windows of the carriages –with capacity for 73 people- They allow a panoramic view of a place declared Natural Heritage of Humanity.
The train advances on the recovered tracks of the old C branch of the Belgrano Railway, abandoned in the 1990s, after the privatization of part of the Argentine railway system.
“A train has not run through the Quebrada de Humahuaca for 30 years. In March 1993, it was the last time one walked along these tracks,” says Rodríguez, who is part of the generation that had never before seen a railroad pass through the area.
The new means of transportation is an invitation to tourism, but at the same time seeks to reconnect the inhabitants of the small and remote towns in the north of the country.
For this, it has a differential rate, according to the different types of passengers. Residents of the area can access it at a lower price than Argentine visitors, who will also pay less than foreigners.
The train runs 35 kilometers from Volcano to Maimaraat a speed of up to 60 kilometers per hour, passing through the small towns of Tumbaya and Purmamarca.
This year, the Jujuy government hopes to add another seven kilometers until reaching the Tilcara station, one of the main tourist destinations in the country.
Then a second stage is planned, which will pass through Humahuaca and reach La Quiaca, on the border with Bolivia.
The initiative, according to its promoters, is an example of how lithium can be an invitation to sustainable development in the group of Latin American countries that sit on the largest world reserves of this mineral, among which is Argentina.
The lithium resource
Lithium batteries are everywhere, in our cell phones, in the computers we use, and in electric cars.
But much less common is to find them on public transport.
Jujuy is part of the Lithium Triangle, that part of the Andes that covers the triple border between Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, and where the largest lithium deposits in the world are located.
For this reason, when he was governor, Gerardo Morales decided a few years ago to carry out the project of a train with lithium batteries financed by the provincial budget.
“We fell and got up many times with this project but here we are, fulfilling this dream,” said Morales at the inauguration of the railway last December, prior to the start of commercial trips this Wednesday.
The advantage of lithium is that it can store a lot of energy in a short time.
“Lithium batteries allow solar energy to be absorbed much faster than traditional batteries made of lead,” Marcos Actis, dean of Engineering at the University of La Plata, one of the institutions in charge of creating the first lithium battery plant in the country.
Argentina is the fourth largest producer of lithium in the world. But despite having the natural resources and technical equipment to do so, the country is currently not in a position to produce batteries from this mineral on an industrial scale.
“The country should at least aim to refine lithium to leave it at the battery level,” says Actis, who explains that the exchange restriction in the country and the old regulatory frameworks complicate the development of this type of technology.
Additionally, these batteries produce less carbon emissions, although They are not free of environmental problems..
The process to obtain lithium through mining is destructive to the natural environment. And lithium extraction requires large quantities of water, about two million liters per ton.
For this reason, not everyone celebrates this initiative. Some residents fear that, because of this mineral, the towns will run out of water or it will end up contaminated.
Furthermore, the launch of the train caused new stations to be built in places where families had lived for years, many of them without property titles.
For this reason, Jujuy decided to carry out an eviction operation that caused some criticism. The lawyer assisting three of the affected families argued that they are heirs of railroad workers and that they acquired the land.
The authorities responded by saying that “all those who have provided for the release of public lands were given a response to their housing problem” through the allocation of new lands and homes.
Closer to the sun
At the Cauchari solar plant, in the remote town of Susques, at more than 4,200 meters above sea level, one million photovoltaic panels absorb the sun’s energy and generate nearly 70% of electricity that consumes the province.
The train that has just been inaugurated moves in part thanks to the energy of Cauchari, which supplies the province’s power line and reaches the charge of the lithium batteries.
In Jujuy they hope that the energy supply will arrive in the coming years directly from the Quebrada de Humahuaca solar park, which is under construction.
“It is a good idea, considering the height of the area,” says Actis, since in higher regions the use of solar energy is greater.
The relationship with China
The manufacture of the two train cars was carried out by the Chinese company Corporation Limited (CRRC), something that is not surprising given the collaboration of the province of Jujuy with the Asian country in recent years.
For example, the construction of the Cauchari solar energy park was carried out by the Powerchina company.
“Corporation Limited was the only one that dared to set up a new solar electric train production line, with lithium batteries and narrow gauge,” said then-governor Gerardo Morales last December.
“What we were looking for was so unusual that only some companies in a few countries in the world could give it to us,” says Rodríguez, who clarifies that CRRC was chosen to design and develop the project after holding meetings with different companies around the world. .
The agreement with the Chinese company – which had never before manufactured a train with lithium batteries of this type – responds, according to Rodríguez, to the fact that “on both sides we realized that it was an absolutely innovative and historic project.”
“Setting up a production line for only two trains was not a profitable proposition for other large companies, until we met CRRC, who understood it as an innovative project.”
The government of Jujuy explained that initially the purchase of 12 trains was planned – two in this first stage and another 10 units later – for the Quebrada and for the circuit between the airport and the provincial capital. But the economic situation that Argentina is experiencing led to rethinking these plans.
For now, in Jujuy they are happy with having managed to get the initial stage underway.
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