The Anonymous Widower

The Ways First Group, Hitachi, Hyperdrive Innovation and Turntide Technologies Can Enable Electric Trains To Run Between Basingstoke And Exeter

Who Are Turntide Technologies?

The Wikipedia entry for the company starts with this paragraph.

Turntide Technologies is a US-based business that makes intelligent, sustainable motor systems. Turntide applies its Technology for Sustainable Operations across buildings, agriculture, and transportation segments. It maintains operations in the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, and India.

These three paragraphs from the Technology section of the Wikipedia entry outline their technology.

Turntide’s core product is its Technology for Sustainable Operations, a cloud-based open platform that monitors and automates building and vehicle systems. The platform is powered by its Smart Motor System, a connected hardware-software machine built around a high rotor pole switched reluctance motor.

Southern California Edison utility certified in 2018 that the V01 Smart Motor System reduced energy consumption by 23%-57% compared with a standard AC induction motor, and 11% compared with an induction motor controlled by a variable frequency drive.

In 2019, National Renewable Energy Laboratory certified that Turntide’s motor reduced energy consumption in refrigerator condenser fans by 29%-71%.

Note.

1. Turntide’s efficiencies, which appear to have been verified by reputable organisations, if they can be reproduced in traction systems for battery-powered transport could improve range substantially.
2. There are also other more efficient electric motors being developed.
3. I wrote about Norfolk-based advanced traction motor company; Equipmake in Equipmake Hybrid To Battery Powered LT11.
4. Motors like these, are the engineer’s cure for range anxiety.

I have to ask, if Hitachi (, and Stadler) are using more efficient motors to stretch the range of their battery-electric trains.

Initially, Hitachi asked Hyperdrive Innovation to design battery packs for Class 802 and other similar trains.

These three posts give some details about the battery project involving the two companies.

• Hitachi And Eversholt Rail To Develop GWR Intercity Battery Hybrid Train – Offering Fuel Savings Of More Than 20%
• Hitachi Rail And Angel Trains To Create Intercity Battery Hybrid Train On TransPennine Express
• More On Batteries On Class 802 Trains

Consider.

• In June 2021, Turntide acquired Hyperdrive Innovation.
• So did this effectively invite Turntide to the project?
• According to the Internet, Hitachi are one of the largest manufacturers of electric motors.
• Turntide are very-well funded by the likes of Bill Gates, Robert Downey Junior and some big funds.

Has there been some intense design meetings, which have been beneficial to all parties?

In my experience, these groupings don’t often work out how they should!

But this relationship seems to be doing fine.

One of Hitachi’s managers from the battery-train project even appears in the video on Turntide’s home page.

Electrifying Basingstoke And Exeter

Consider these facts about the route.

• Basingstoke and Salisbury is 35.8 miles.
• Salisbury and Exeter is 88.5 miles.
• Basingstoke and Exeter is 124.3 miles.
• There is no electrification.
• There are 14 stops between Salisbury and Exeter.
• There are 4 stops between Basingstoke and Salisbury.
• Trains are up to nine car Class 159 trains.
• Average speeds are not much better than 50 mph.
• Maximum speeds vary between 75 and 90 mph.

To get an estimate of how much energy, a Basingstoke and Exeter train will use, I’ll start with a figure from How Much Power Is Needed To Run A Train At 125 Or 100 mph?.

At 125 mph, a Class 801 train has a usage figure of 3.42 kWh per vehicle mile.

As drag is proportional to the square of the speed, which gives

• At 100 mph, a Class 801 train has a usage figure of 2.19 kWh per vehicle mile.
• At 80 mph, a Class 801 train has a usage figure of 1.40 kWh per vehicle mile.

For this calculation I’ll take the 80 mph figure of 1.40 kWh per vehicle mile.

Assuming a five-car train travelling between Basingstoke and Exeter, which is 124.3 miles gives a figure of 870 kWh.

But this is only one use of energy on the train.

• Every time, the train accelerates it will need power, but it will charge itself using regenerative braking.
• An all-electric Class 803 train has a mass of 228.5 tonnes and carries 400 passengers.
• If I assume that each passenger is 80 Kg including baggage, bikes and buggies, that gives a mass of 32 tonnes or a total mass of 260.5 tonnes.
• Putting these figures into Omni’s Kinetic Energy calculator gives a figure of 46.3 kWh at 80 mph.

As there are eighteen stops along the route and at each stop it could lose up to twenty percent of its energy, this means that the eighteen stops will cost 166.7 KWh.

Adding this to the 870 KWh it takes to maintain speed, it looks like a trip between Basingstoke and Exeter will take 1036.7 kWh.

Could this be a 200 kWh battery in each coach?

Obviously, this is only a rough calculation and with the better figures Hitachi would have, I would suspect much better answers.

But I do believe that it would be possible to run between Basingstoke and Exeter on battery power, if the train was efficient.

Charging The Train

The train would be charged on the third-rail electrification between Waterloo and Basingstoke.

But what would happen at Exeter?

The trains could be bi-modes like Hitachi’s Class 395 trains for Southeastern,

One of Vivarail’s third-rail charging systems, that First Group, acquired from the Receiver of Vivarail could be used.

Getting The Order Right

Would between Basingstoke and Exeter, be a sensible route to convert to battery-electric trains early, as it would release a useful fleet of diesel trains, that might be able to fill in for a couple of years by replacing the Castles!

 

March 19, 2023 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Basingstoke Station, Class 803 Trains, Electric Motors, Exeter St. Davids Station, First Group, GWR Castles, Hitachi, Hyperdrive Innovation, Turntide Technologies, Vivarail, Vivarail Fast Charge