Viritech Issues A Call To Action For Hydrogen In The United Kingdom
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Daily Research Reporting.
This is the first paragraph.
According to Viritech, adopting clean hydrogen innovation to power road, air, and marine transportation offers the UK a major potential to retake a global engineering pioneering role, create an economic premium, and secure a key environmental dividend. The firm makes the case in its Call to Action for accelerated public and private sector commitment to groundbreaking technology with the potential to restore the UK’s leadership role in the automotive industry while also making a strong dedication to decarbonizing the difficult-to-reduce heavy freight segments of the transportation mix.
I’ll go along with what Viritech says.
Three things caught my eye in the article.
The first is the picture of a car, which I assume is hydrogen-powered.
I also liked this paragraph, which gives a prediction about how batteries and hydrogen will play out their competition.
“Hydrogen is a critical component of the zero-emissions puzzle,” said Jay Nagley, a seasoned automotive pundit from Viritech. “Batteries cannot do everything, and there are many use cases, particularly in heavy freight applications like heavy cargo vehicles, where batteries solely are not the answer to replacing fossil fuels. A dual-track method combining hydrogen and batteries, on the other hand, offers a full range of possibilities for achieving this goal. While batteries will be the primary source of growth in the early 2020s, the hydrogen powertrains will become the primary source of growth in the late 2020s.”
I agree with Jay Nagley.
The last point is only a few words.
Structural graphene pressure vessels.
That sounds to be just the ticket to reduce the size of hydrogen tanks.
Conclusion
Viritech could be one to watch.
Avanti Train Wedding: The Couple Who Said ‘I do’ On A 125 mph Train To Birmingham
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
I’ll put one quote from the article here.
The couple say they were worried about missing the train and having to catch a “marriage replacement service”
Obviously, they didn’t!
The article doesn’t say, if anybody has got married on a train before.
- I suspect that some heritage railways can and have arranged it.
- It appears that you can get married on the Bluebell Railway. But is that in a station or on a train.
- This web site offers Wedding Train Chartering
But only three train companies have the trains and routes to offer you a wedding at 125 mph.
Conclusion
This could start a trend!
Afghanistan War: Taliban Back Brutal Rule As They Strike For Power
This article on the BBC describes the evil that are the Taliban.
They need to be rounded up and sent to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Violent thugs and despots like the Taliban give Islam a bad name.
What Will Wales’ Proposed World-Class Rail Testing Centre Deliver?
This question is answered in this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
As yet, there is no Wikipedia entry.
Norrbotniabanan Final Phase To Go Ahead
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Railway Gazette.
This is the first two paragraphs.
The government has decided to press ahead with completion of the Norrbotniabanan coastal railway linking Umeå and Luleå via Dåva and Skellefteå.
Recognising that ongoing investment in industrial development across the north of the country would drive demand for improved transport links, Infrastructure Minister Tomas Eneroth has instructed Trafikverket to continue planning work for the new line.
If you get your maps out, you’ll find that the Norrbotniabanan or North Bothnian Line is at the North of the Baltic Sea.
- It’s also planned as a high speed line with an operating speed of 160 mph, which is faster than the East Coast Main Line in the UK.
- It is also 170 miles long.
- Journey time between Umeå and Luleå will be ninety minutes as opposed to four hours today.
Wikipedia also says this about connections at the Northern end.
Currently, the area is served by the Main Line Through Upper Norrland, which is located inland and with branch lines connected to various towns along the coast. To the north, the line will connect with the Main Line Through Upper Norrland and onwards along the Haparanda Line to connect to the Barents Region and the Finnish railway network. It will also connect to the Iron Ore Line.
Sounds like it will be a great place to go for a rail-oriented holiday.
Greater Manchester’s First Low Carbon Hydrogen Hub To Be Developed As Part Of New Collaboration
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article from Manchester Metropolitan University.
This is the first two paragraphs.
A new partnership aims to support ambitions for Greater Manchester to become the first Net Zero region in the world by 2040, with the planned installation of the city’s first low-carbon hydrogen hub.
For the first time, sustainable hydrogen fuel will be produced at scale in the region, creating opportunities for businesses in the area to make Net Zero plans with hydrogen in mind.
It doesn’t say much about the hydrogen hub, but from other sources, I have found the following.
it appears it will have the capability of producing 200 MW of green hydrogen.
- Carlton Power is the main developer.
- It will be built on the Trafford Low Carbon Energy Park.
- Building will start next year with operation scheduled for 2023.
- It will be built near Highview Power’s 50MW/250 MWh CRYOBattery.
It sounds ambitious. Especially, as it appears Carlton Power are talking about developing another ten similar sites in the UK.
Grand Union Plans ‘93s’ To Stirling
The title of this post, is the same as an article in the August 2021 Edition of Modern Railways.
This is the first paragraph.
Grand Union Trains hopes to use tri-mode Class 93 locomotives ordered by Rail Operations (UK) Ltd on its proposed Stirling to London Euston open access service – if it is approved by the Office of Rail and Road.
The article also says that they will be using nine-car rakes of Mark 4 coaches and a driving van trailer.
- Full-length InterCity 225 trains have the same formation.
- A full-length InterCity 125 can carry 406 Standard Class and 129 First Class passengers.
- InterCity 225 trains are hauled by a Class 91 locomotive, which is rated at 4.8 MW.
- A Class 93 locomotive has a rating of 4 MW on electricity.
As the Class 93 locomotive has a maximum speed of 110 mph, as opposed to the 125 mph of the Class 91 locomotive, the reduced power is probably enough.
Th following sections give more information from the article.
Planned Route
This sentence from the article gives the route.
If approved, trains will call at Greenfaulds, Whifflet and Motherwell on their way south from Stirling, then Lockerbie, Carlisle, Preston, Crewe and Nuneaton before arrival in London.
The route appears to be fully-electrified.
Planned Timetable
More details of the planned service are also revealed.
- Trains will be approximately every three hours.
- There will be four trains per day in each direction.
- The first train South will leave Stirling at 05:15
- The first train North will leave Euston at 07:30.
That will be a total of around 3,500 seats per day or over a million seats per year.
Planned Start Date
A start date around the end of 2022 is suggested, but it does say that delivery of the Class 93 locomotives could make this tight.
But it does appear that gauge clearance for the service is in hand.
Conclusion
I like this service proposal and I think the Class 93 locomotive improves it.
I do think if Grand Union’s service is an operational success, that we will see these locomotives replacing Class 68 locomotives on passenger services, where there is a proportion of electrification.
Could the almost brand-new Class 68 locomotives be converted to run on hydrogen, as surely they are too young for the scrapyard?
Stadler are not stupid and I suspect they could be converted to something with a smaller carbon footprint. My choice would be hydrogen.
Dublin Energy Start-up Targets $2 trillion Offshore Wind Sector
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Irish Times.
The article gives a few clues, as to what Gazelle Wind Power are about.
This is the sub-title.
Gazelle Wind Power raises $4m to develop its hybrid floating offshore wind platform
What is a hybrid floating offshore wind platform?
I have form in the subject of large floating structures, as I did the calculations for a Cambridge-based company called Balaena Structures, that was proposing floating oil production platforms.
The company failed and I got paid, but their ideas returned to obscurity.
However, from that brief interlude in my life, I believe that there are innovative floating designs that could benefit the wind power industry.
This paragraph sums up the platform.
Overall the company estimates its solution costs half the price of other platforms to manufacture and 60 per cent less in terms of installation fees, while providing savings well above €1 million per megawatt.
I’ll go along with that, as the Balaena was very affordable and very stable.
The company has also recruited some powerful advisors, as this paragraph shows.
Gazelle recently named an elite group of energy industry veterans to its board of directors that includes Dr Javier Cavada, chief executive of Highview Power, Pierpaolo Mazza, a former general sales manager at GE Power, and Connie Hedegaard, former minister of environment to Denmark.
I have a feeling Gazelle Wind Power could be on to something.
Does the presence of the chief executive of Highview Power mean they are developing a floating platform with energy storage?
I remember that Balaena’s platform was very stable and as it was for oil and gas production, it had plenty of processing equipment on top.
Certainly, a wind turbine in the megawatt range with power storage would be a useful system.
The Anonymous Widower 