Opportunity For Communities To Have Their Say On National Grid Proposals For Norwich To Tilbury Project
The title of this post is the same as that of this press release from National Grid.
These three bullet points are sub-headings.
- National Grid is consulting communities for 10 weeks, between Wednesday 10 April to Tuesday 18 June, on its infrastructure proposals to connect new clean energy sources into the East Anglian electricity network.
- Norwich to Tilbury will enable National Grid to connect the sources of power generated from offshore wind to homes and businesses across Britain, helping to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and bring the cost of energy bills down.
- The project will help the UK achieve its aim of generating 50GW of energy from offshore wind by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.
This page on the National Grid web site has an interactive map of the route.
This paragraph invites people to comment.
National Grid is encouraging communities in East Anglia to comment on proposals to upgrade the high voltage power network in England as part of a 10-week consultation process which runs between Wednesday 10 April and Tuesday 18 June.
National Grid have also announced dates of when public information events are being held.
- Wednesday 24 April 2024 – 12pm – 5pm – Towngate Theatre, St Martin’s Square, Basildon, Essex SS14 1DL
- Thursday 25 April 2024 – 2pm – 7pm – The Brentwood Centre, Doddinghurst Road, Pilgrims Hatch, Brentwood, CM15 9NN
- Saturday 27 April 202 – 11am – 4pm – Chelmsford City Racecourse, Chelmsford, CM3 1QP
- Tuesday 30 April 2024 – 12pm – 5pm – Gislingham Village Hall, Mill Street, Gislingham, IP23 8JT
- Wednesday 1 May 2024 – 11am – 4pm – Copdock Village Hall, Old London Road, Copdock, IP8 3JN
- Friday 3 May 2024 – 1pm – 6pm – Needham Market Community Centre, School St, Needham Market, Ipswich IP6 8BB
- Saturday 4 May 2024 – 11am – 4pm – Lawford Venture Centre 2000, Bromley Road, Lawford, Manningtree CO11 2JE
- Wednesday 8 May 2024 – 4pm – 7pm – The Civic Hall, Blackshots Lane, Grays, RM16 2JU
- Thursday 9 May 2024 – 1pm – 6pm- Thorpe Hall, Ashwell Thorpe and Fundenhall Community Centre, Muskett Road, Ashwellthorpe, NR16 1FD
- Friday 10 May 2024 – 1pm – 6pm – Tibenham Community Hall, Pristow Green Lane, Tibenham, Norwich NR16 1PX
- Tuesday 14 May 2024 – 11am – 4pm – Witham Public Hall, Collingwood Road, Witham, CM8 2DY
- Wednesday 15 May 2024 – pm – 6pm – Diss Town Football Club, Diss, IP22 4QP
- Thursday 16 May 2024 – 2pm – 7pm – Langham Community Centre, School Road, Langham, Colchester, CO4 5PA
- Friday 17 May 2024 – 1pm – 6pm – Great Bromley Village Hall, Parsons Hill, Great Bromley, Colchester, CO7 7JA
I shall be going to the Brentwood and Needham Market meetings.
I have some thoughts.
T-Pylons
There is a chance that this route will not use conventional pylons.
These pictures show the T-pylons, that have been used in Somerset to connect Hinckley Point C power station to the National Grid.
Note.
- They are a Danish design.
- They are shorter than current pylons.
- They have a smaller footprint on the ground.
- The design won a National Grid-RIBA design competition.
- We will probably see them around the country in the next few years.
They are certainly better than the standard ones that connect the Sizewell site to the National Grid, that passed by my first house in Suffolk.
enfinium Announces Proposal For £200m Investment In Carbon Capture Project In North Wales
The title of this post is the same as that of this press release from enfinium.
This is the sub-heading.
The project could be capable of capturing up to 235,000 tonnes of CO2 every year, accelerating efforts to achieve net zero.
The first two paragraphs outline the project.
Today, enfinium, a leading UK energy from waste operator, announces it is progressing plans to invest around £200 million in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology at the Parc Adfer energy from waste facility in Deeside, North Wales, providing vital carbon removals and boosting the green economy.
The project could capture up to 235,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) every year. As over half of the waste processed at the facility is organic, installing CCS would enable the plant to take more CO2 out of the atmosphere than it produces. The Welsh Government’s Carbon Budget makes clear that Wales needs carbon removal solutions to mitigate other polluting parts of the economy to achieve a Net Zero economy.
The press release also says this about Paec Adfer.
Opened in 2019 in partnership with the five local authorities that make up the North Wales Residual Waste Treatment Partnership (NWRWTP), Parc Adfer currently diverts up to 232,000 tonnes of unrecyclable waste from climate damaging landfill. As recognised by the National Infrastructure Commission, emissions from energy from waste plants are lower per tonne of waste compared to landfill.
With CCS installed, Parc Adfer will support the Welsh Government’s ambition to have 100% zero carbon power by 2035 and support over 1,000 jobs in the green economy during the construction phase.
This Google Map shows the location of Parc Adfer, with respect to Liverpool and the River Dee.
Note.
- Liverpool is in the North-East corner of the map.
- Chester is in the South-East corner of the map.
- The Dee Estuary is in the North-West corner of the map.
- The red arrow indicates the location of Parc Adfer.
This second Google Map shows the location of Parc Adfer in Deeside Industrial Park, which is just over the England-Wales border.
As before, the red arrow indicates the location of Parc Adfer.
This third Google Map shows the detailed area of Parc Adfer.
Note.
- The red arrow indicates the location of Parc Adfer.
- The Borderlands Line between Liverpool and Wrexham runs alongside the site.
- Around Parc Adfer are assorted steel works and the Flintshire Bridge HVDC Convertor Station for the Western HVDC Link to Hunterston in Scotland.
- On the other side of the tracks are Amazon, Great Bear Distribution, Toyota, Unilever and the Toyota Deeside Solar Park.
These are my thoughts.
Parc Adfer Has Excellent Electrical Connections
In addition to the 2.25 GW Western HVDC Link to Hunterston, there are following power sources in the area.
- The wind farms of Liverpool Bay.
- The 1.4 GW Connah’s Quay power station.
- The 498 MW Deeside power station.
From the enfinium web site, it looks like Parc Adfer will generate 21 MW of zero-carbon energy from waste.
Will Parc Adfer Have A Rail Connection?
According to the enfinium web site, Parc Adfer will process waste from Flintshire County Council, Denbighshire County Council, Conwy County Borough Council, Gwynedd Council and the Isle of Anglesey County Council.
I have arranged these councils in order from East to West and all are served by the North Wales Coast Line.
This OpenRailMap shows the rail connection between Parc Adfer and the North Wales Coast Line.
Note.
- The Borderlands Line is shown in yellow and runs between Liverpool and Wrexham.
- The Borderlands Line runs past Parc Adfer just off the North of the map.
- The North Wales Coast Line is shown in orange and runs between North Wales and Chester.
- There are two stations at Shotton; High and Low Levels, which allow a passenger connection.
Unfortunately, there is no rail connection for trains which would allow freight services between Parc Adfer and North Wales.
A section called Future, in the Wikipedia entry for Shotton station, says this about upgrading the station.
In March 2015 Network Rail published the draft version of their Welsh Route Study. It contained a proposal to build a new interchange station that would replace the existing High and Low Level stations, allowing for greater connectivity between the North Wales Coast Main Line and the Borderlands Line. The document recommended a transport planning study to establish the cost, feasibility and benefits of the proposed scheme.
It appears to be likely, that no rail route will be created to allow freight services between Parc Adfer and North Wales.
Deeside Parkway Railway Station
It does appear that a parkway station at Deeside Parkway is a possibility.
This is the opening paragraph of the Wikipedia entry for Deeside Parkway station.
Deeside Parkway is a proposed railway station situated between Neston and Hawarden Bridge on the Borderlands Line. The station is intended to serve the Deeside area of Flintshire, North Wales, particularly the Deeside Industrial Park.
The station is proposed to be park of the North Wales Metro, which is described in this Wikipedia entry.
Rolls-Royce To Be A Partner In Zero-Carbon Gas-Fired Power Station In Rhodesia
This press release from Rolls-Royce is entitled Rolls-Royce, Landmark And ASCO Collaborate On CO2 Recovery Power Generation Solutions.
These three bullet points serve as sub-headings.
- Cooperation plans to develop solutions for clean power generation with carbon capture from gas reciprocating engines
- Captured CO2 will be available for use in industries such as food, Efuels, sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), cement and plastic production
- First of-its-kind flexible power generation and carbon capture plant currently under construction in Nottinghamshire, UK
This image shows a Rolls-Royce mtu Series 4000 gas genset.
Note.
- Power is up to 2.5 MW.
- The engine is labelled H2-ready on its web page.
These two paragraphs add some detail to the project.
Rolls-Royce, ASCO Carbon Dioxide Ltd (ASCO), and Landmark Power Holdings Limited (LMPH), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at developing scalable solutions for clean power generation with carbon capture from mtu gas reciprocating engines. This strategic partnership will help enable power generation customers to achieve their net zero ambitions and marks a significant step towards addressing climate change.
“Power generation is a highly attractive, growing market segment and an area of strategic focus for Rolls-Royce, where partnerships can help further grow market position and broaden its power generation offering, as set out at last November’s Capital Markets Day”, said Tobias Ostermaier, President Stationary Power Solutions at Rolls-Royce Power Systems. Rolls-Royce is committed to becoming a net zero company by 2050 and supporting customers to do the same.
These are my thoughts.
Uses Of Carbon Dioxide
The press release from Rolls-Royce lists a few uses of carbon dioxide.
The plan is to make the captured CO2 available (utilisation) for use in various industries such as food production, Efuels, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), cement and plastic production (utilisation). The captured CO2 will also be ready for transportation should permanent sequestration be preferred (storage).
Carbon dioxide can also be added to the air in greenhouses, that are producing flowers, herbs, salad vegetables, soft fruit and tomatoes.
ASCO Carbon Dioxide
ASCO Carbon Dioxide is a subsidiary of French company; Schneider Electric.
The home page on their web site, describes ASCO Carbon Dioxide like this.
The Swiss ASCO CARBON DIOXIDE LTD is a globally operating company that offers complete solutions for CO2 and dry ice. The range of services includes carbon capture plants, CO2 recovery systems, ASCOJET dry ice blasting machines, dry ice production machines, CO2 cylinder filling systems, CO2 vaporisers, CO2 storage tanks, CO2 dosing systems for water neutralization and various other CO2 and dry ice equipment.
Thanks to this broad product range and more than 130 years of practical experience in the comprehensive CO2 and dry ice sector, the customer benefits from individual, complete CO2 solutions from a single source. ASCO has been part of the international industrial gases company Messer Group since 2007 and is its centre of competence for CO2.
In other words, the world and especially the climate change activists may hate carbon dioxide with a vengeance, but ASCO Carbon Dioxide see it as a way to make money and something that needs love.
It also seems, that if you want to do something with or to carbon dioxide, then ASCO Carbon Dioxide could be one of the first companies that you call.
Landmark Power Holdings Limited
The About page on their web site, describes the mission of Landmark Power Holdings Limited like this.
LMPH was established in 2019 with the purpose to help to build a circular economy, by applying new methodologies to proven technologies in energy production.
We support the transition to net zero by supplying dispatchable, low carbon energy that enables more renewable energy production while contributing to a circular economy, by eliminating inefficiencies in production, ensuring that every input is used to its maximum potential and treating all production waste as a profitable resource.
This Solutions page on their web site, describes their FlexPower Plus system.
These are the two introductory paragraphs.
FLEXPOWER PLUS® is LMPH’s modular approach to optimising the generation of clean flexible power. It is a combination of High Efficiency Flexible Power Generation modules and Carbon Capture Utilisation (CCU) modules.
Each of the modules can be added to the production processes depending on the site and production needs.
This last paragraph describes the result.
When you combine the the High Efficiency Flexible Power Generation modules with the Carbon Capture Utilisation (CCU) modules, the power generation is classified as low carbon and considered to be as clean as wind power but with the capacity to provide baseload power.
They certainly sound like my kind of company, as I was simulating processes like this for ICI in the 1970s.
ICI taught me that only four things should leave a chemical or other process plant.
- Product, that is sold at an advantageous price.
- Pure water
- Clean air
- Everybody who worked there.
It appears a FlexPower Plus system produces three valuable products; electricity, heat and pure food-grade carbon-dioxide.
The Rhodesia Project
The Rhodesia project has its own page on the Landmark Power Holdings web site, where these four paragraphs describe the project.
The Rhodesia project is a joint venture with Victory Hill, a specialist investment firm targeting direct investments in global energy infrastructure that support the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The Rhodesia project is located in north Nottinghamshire near Worksop and has an electrical capacity of 10MW.
Additional capacity is to be sold through a private wire power supply for local businesses with the intent to facilitate vehicle charging stations.
Construction started in March 2022 and the start of power production is projected for Q3 2024 with the full CO2 capture from Q4 2024.
There is also this paragraph, that lists the partners in the Rhodesia project.
For the development of the Rhodesia project LMPH and Victory Hill have partnered with global industrial groups such as Mitsubishi Turboden S.p.A., MTU Rolls-Royce Solutions UK, ASCO CARBON DIOXIDE LTD, Climeon.
With three of the world’s largest companies amongst the partners, this partnership must have a high chance of success.
Victory Hill Capital Hill Partners
Victory Hill Capital Partners are partners in the Rhodesia project.
Their joint philosophy with Landmark Power Holdings is summed up on this video.
Working Together
The press release from Rolls-Royce says this about the partnership.
Rolls-Royce is contributing its extensive experience and global network in the field of decentralized power generation to the cooperation through its Power Systems division with the mtu product portfolio. The contribution of LMPH, a developer of high-efficiency Combined Heat and Power (CHP) projects, is its patented FLEXPOWER PLUS® concept, combined with technical expertise and patented technologies. ASCO has over 50 years of experience in developing and building carbon capture (or CO2-Recovery) plants and will be providing valuable insights and solutions from the carbon capture industry.
There is also this diagram of the system.
Note.
- The 4000 gas genset is in the bottom-left corner.
- The HT PRC and LT ORC are two Mitsubishi turbo-generators generating electricity from waste heat.
- The ASCO carbon capture system is in the top-left corner.
- Carbon dioxide can either be stored or used.
This system should be zero-carbon, once the design is fully tested.
A View From The Top
This paragraph from the Rolls-Royce press release gives the view of the President Stationary Power Solutions at Rolls-Royce Power Systems.
Tobias Ostermaier, President Stationary Power Solutions at Rolls-Royce Power Systems, said: “We are convinced that CO2 capture and storage systems in combination with our mtu gas gensets are an important building block on the way to Net Zero. As a complement to renewable energy sources, internal combustion engines can already provide clean, cost-effective and extremely reliable power generation.”
I suspect he’s rather pleased.
North Sea, Baltic Sea Countries Enter Pacts To Protect Offshore Energy Infrastructure Amid Concerns Over Russian Sabotage
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Eight Baltic Sea countries signed a joint declaration on collaborating closer to secure critical offshore energy infrastructure in the region on 10 April, only a day after six North Sea countries entered into a similar agreement. Both are a result of security concerns arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and reports of possible sabotage of offshore and subsea energy infrastructure in the North and Baltic Seas.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Concerns over Russia sabotaging offshore energy assets came into the spotlight after four gas leaks were found in September 2022 on the twin Nord Stream pipeline system in the Baltic Sea.
Following national investigations into the incident initiated by Germany, Sweden and Denmark, and studies by the Norwegian and Swedish seismic institutes, European authorities said that the incident could have been the result of “deliberate actions”.
Hopefully, mutual defence will see off, the Evil Vlad!
Developing A Rural Hydrogen Network
On my last stud farm, we had three regular fuel deliveries.
- Propane to heat the house and offices.
- Red diesel to power the tractor and farm machinery.
- Road diesel to power the horse box and a couple of diesel cars, that went on the roads.
Note.
- Like most farms in the UK, we didn’t have mains gas.
- The local low-life of whom you never speak their name, used to regularly steal the diesel.
- Stealing of diesel in rural areas of the UK is a big industry.
- The police did nothing to stop the thefts as the culprits are untouchable.
- We had two boilers, that both ran on the propane.
- Modern boilers can be converted from propane to use hydrogen.
- All cars, trucks, farm vehicles and machinery on the stud farm could in the future use hydrogen.
Propane and diesel would be replaced by clean hydrogen.
Delivering The Fuel
Consider.
- Propane and diesel are currently delivered in rural areas by truck.
- Hydrogen will be delivered the same way and stored in a tank designed for hydrogen, which could be similar in appearance to current propane tanks.
- Boilers would be directly piped to the hydrogen tank.
- The technology exists to fill hydrogen-powered vehicles and equipment from hydrogen tanks.
- I believe that a thief-proof hydrogen tank would be possible.
- The hydrogen will be delivered as needed in a hydrogen-powered truck.
I believe companies like Centrica, will develop the technology so that farms and businesses could have their own hydrogen system.
Supplying The Hydrogen
Electrolysers would be needed around the country.
Some could be based on nuclear sites, where others could be powered by offshore wind.
Hydrogen Safety
Hydrogen safety has its own Wikipedia entry.
The entry starts with a description of the Hindenberg Disaster, which has a detailed Wikipedia entry of its own.
I’ve spoken to someone, who was there; Dory Previn, who later wrote a song about it.
The Hydrogen safety Wikipedia entry has this paragraph.
There are many codes and standards regarding hydrogen safety in storage, transport, and use. These range from federal regulations, ANSI/AIAA, NFPA, and ISO standards. The Canadian Hydrogen Safety Program concluded that hydrogen fueling is as safe as, or safer than, compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling,
I’ve also talked to German schoolchildren about their hydrogen trains and as you are educated about hydrogen, the fear decreases and the safety increases.
Hydrogen-Powered Lawnmowers And Garden Tractors
Everybody likes a lush, green lawn.
Surely, yours is better, if your lawnmower emits no carbon dioxide!
Electric will work, but if you have a hydrogen-powered lawnmower, that can be filled from your central heating tank, that is better.
Collateral Benefits
These would be collateral benefits.
- One set of tankers would be replaced by a single zero-carbon hydrogen tanker, thus reducing road traffic.
- I believe there would be less fuel theft.
- Rural businesses, that needed gas like blacksmiths could be supplied.
- A lot of buildings with a propane-fuelled boiler could be converted to hydrogen.
It would be a path to decarbonisation of the rural economy.
How Big Is The Off-Grid Energy Market?
A document on the House of Commons web site says this.
An estimated 4.4 million households across Great Britain were not connected to the gas grid in 2021. This was 15.1% of domestic properties.
If the average gas bill is £100/month, then that is £1200/year, which works out at £5,280,000,000.
When you add in off-grid businesses, that would need fuel and hydrogen fuel for vehicles and agricultural equipment, the market can’t be much short of £10 billion.
Conclusion
As it is a multi-billion pound marketplace. someone will develop it.
Sizewell C And Hydrogen
The Sizewell C web site has a page with a title of Hydrogen and SZC.
The page asks this question.
Why Does Sizewell C Want To Produce Hydrogen?
It gives this answer.
Nuclear is a great way of producing hydrogen as it generates huge amounts of reliable, low-carbon energy. Nuclear and hydrogen are also two clean technologies that can help us make big reductions in carbon emissions. While both technologies are vital on their own, at Sizewell C we have an exciting vision to bring them together.
The page is worth a read about how they will use the hydrogen, which will include.
- Providing Wrightbus hydrogen-powered buses to link the main construction site with Park-and-Ride sites on the A 12 at Darsham and Wickham Market.
- Powering vehicles and machinery on the main construction site.
- Supplying hydrogen to Freeport East.
- Refuelling hydrogen vehicles.
I have a few thoughts.
Supplying Hydrogen To Users
On my last stud farm, we had three fuel deliveries.
- Propane to heat the house.
- Red diesel to power the farm machinery.
- Road diesel to power the horse box and a couple of diesel cars, that went on the roads.
Note.
- Like most farms in East Anglia, we didn’t have mains gas.
- The local low-life of whom you never speak their name, used to regularly steal the diesel.
- We had two boilers, that ran on the propane.
- All farm vehicles and machinery will in the future use hydrogen.
- Propane and diesel would be replaced by clean hydrogen.
I believe companies like Centrica, will develop the technology so that farms and businesses could have their own hydrogen system, that would be topped-up accordingly, by road tankers, which themselves would be fuelled by hydrogen.
One set of tankers would be replaced by another zero-carbon set.
Sizewell sits on the Suffolk Coast and it appears, there will be a new road link to the A 12, which connects to Suffolk’s main road system.
This map shows Sizewell C and East Suffolk.
Note.
- The Sizewell site is outlined in pink on the coast, about halfway up the map.
- The A 12 road and the East Suffolk Line run almost parallel to the coast between Ipswich in the South and Lowestoft and Yarmouth in the North.
Energy use in East Suffolk would be transformed and all because there will be a plentiful supply of zero-carbon hydrogen.
Hydrogen And The Arts
Suffolk has been an artistic county for hundreds of years and some works of art, like casting bronzes, firing pottery or working with glass or wrought iron need a lot of energy. Local hydrogen networks supplied by tanker, as propane is now could help to decarbonise one of the most difficult of professions.
Pink Hydrogen
This page on the National Grid web site explains the various hydrogen colours.
It describes pink hydrogen like this.
Pink hydrogen is generated through electrolysis powered by nuclear energy. Nuclear-produced hydrogen can also be referred to as purple hydrogen or red hydrogen.
In addition, the very high temperatures from nuclear reactors could be used in other hydrogen productions by producing steam for more efficient electrolysis or fossil gas-based steam methane reforming.
I also call it Barbie hydrogen.
Sizewell C would be an ideal place to create pink hydrogen.
Before Sizewell C is up and running, the electrolyser at Sizewell could be powered by Sizewell B or even offshore wind.
Canadian Pension Fund To Consolidate Its Offshore Wind Holdings Into UK-Based Reventus Power
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) will consolidate its existing direct and indirect offshore wind holdings into Reventus Power, its UK-based portfolio company, which will become its dedicated global offshore wind platform.
This first paragraph gives more details.
Subject to customary approvals, the move will see Reventus Power growing its teams in the UK, Germany, Poland and Portugal to form a team of approximately 50 offshore wind specialists, according to CPP Investments, whose current exposure to offshore wind is more than CAD 1 billion (approximately EUR 678 million; USD 737 million).
According to their web site, the Reventus HQ is in London.
There is nothing on the web to indicate a special reason, so it must have been one of the following.
- Canadians like investing in the UK.
- The UK is good for tax reasons.
- London has all the lawyers, accountants and other services they will need.
- I suspect several wind farms, that they will develop will be in UK waters.
- Many of the extra staff, they have said they will recruit will be UK-based or UK-educated.
But overall, it must be a feather in its cap for London.
MAN Expands Its Zero-Emission Portfolio
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from MAN.
This is the first paragraph.
Commercial vehicle manufacturer MAN Truck & Bus will be the first European truck producer to launch a small series with a hydrogen combustion engine. The initially planned small series of around 200 units is to be delivered to customers in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Iceland and selected non-European countries as early as 2025. The “MAN hTGX”, as the vehicle will be called, offers an alternative zero-emission drive variant for special applications, for example for transporting heavy goods – such as construction work, tank transport or timber transport. The hTGX can also be an environmentally friendly alternative to battery-electric trucks for use in areas without sufficient charging infrastructure or for markets where sufficient hydrogen is already available. MAN will hand over its battery-electric truck to customers for the first time in 2024 and scale it up from 2025. MAN has been the market leader for electric city buses in Europe since 2023.
Note.
- The hydrogen truck is based on the proven TG vehicles.
- The engine is a hydrogen version of one of their current diesel engines.
- The vehicle will satisfy the forthcoming EU regulations on carbon dioxide emissions.
- The maximum range is up to 600 kilometres, which would allow London and Edinburgh, provided there was a hydrogen supply at both ends.
- With hydrogen compressed to 700 bar (CG H2) and a tank capacity of 56 kg, the vehicle can be refuelled in less than 15 minutes.
This could be a very useful truck for the UK.
Hydrogen And Electric Propulsion Compared
Stadler have given us an interesting way of comparing the range and other properties of hydrogen-powered and battery-electric trains, as their Flirt H2 and Akku trains have both set Guinness World Records for distance travelled.
The Hydrogen-Powered Flirt-H2
In Stadler’s FLIRT H2 Sets World Record For Hydrogen Powered Train, I write about how a Stadler Flirt-H2 had set a record of 2803 kilometres, without refilling.
This page on the Stadler web site gives details of the Flirt-H2.
- Hydrogen Range – 460 km.
- Operating Speed – 127 kph
- Refuelling Time – < 30 minutes
- Seats – 116
This graphic clipped from the Stadler web site shows the Flirt-H2.
Like Greater Anglia’s Class 755 train, it has a PowerPack in the middle, which contains a fuel cell and the hydrogen tank, instead of the Class 755 train’s diesel engines.
The Battery-Electric Akku
In Flirt Akku And Class 755 Train Compared, I compare a Flirt Akku and Greater Anglia’s Class 755 train, after the battery-electric Akku had set a record of 224 kilometres, with recharging.
This page on the Stadler web site gives details of the Flirt Akku.
- Battery Range – 150 km
- Operating Speed – 160 kph
- Chrging Time – 15 minutes
- Seats – 120-180
This graphic clipped from the Stadler web site shows the Flirt Akku.
At a quick glance, the trains seem to be fairly similar, with the exception of the PowerPack.
- Both have regenerative braking.
- Both have the battery and the power converter on the roof.
- I would expect that the Flirt-H2 could be fitted with a pantograph and a transformer.
- Both trains have two passenger carriages.
I also suspect, both trains can be lengthened by adding extra coaches.
These are my thoughts.
Thoughts On The PowerPack In A Flirt-H2
This picture shows the PowerPark car of a Class 755 train.
Note.
- These PowerPacks have slots for up to four 480 Kw diesel engines.
- PowerPacks on a Class 788/4 train with four diesel engines weighs 27.9 tonnes.
- PowerPacks on a Class 788/3 train has two diesel engines.
- In the UK, trains with PowerPacks have up to four passenger cars.
- The PowerPack has a walkway from one end of the car to the other.
As customers, might like to replace their diesel PowerPacks, with something that was zero-carbon, I would expect, that the hydrogen PowerPack would have the following properties.
- Hydrogen and diesel PowerPacks would be interchangeable.
- The hydrogen PowerPack would come in two handy sizes of hydrogen fuel cell; 0ne and two MW.
- The weight of both hydrogen and diesel PowerPacks would be similar, as if power and weight were similar, then this could help certification.
- The Flirt-H2 for California, which would only have two passenger cars, would have the smaller hydrogen fuel cell.
I would expect that a conservative designer would use any spare space for hydrogen storage.
- Perhaps, there would be one tank either side of the walkway.
- The quoted range of 450 kilometres for the Flirt-H2 is just under 300 miles, so it would probably cover most regional round trips in Europe without refuelling.
- On many routes refuelling would only need to be done once-per-day.
- Refuelling can be some distance from operation.
- Large tanks would explain the thirty minutes refuelling time.
Obviously, large tanks have the collateral benefit of setting distance records.
The Kinetic Energy Of A Flirt-H2 Train
In My First Rides In A Class 755 Train, I calculated the kinetic energy of a Class 755/4 train.
I said this.
I will use my standard calculation.
The basic train weight is 114.3 tonnes.
If each of the 229 passengers weighs 90 kg with Baggage, bikes and buggies, this gives a passenger weight of 20.34 tonnes.
This gives a total weight of 134.64 tonnes.
Using Omni’s Kinetic Energy Calculator gives these figures for the Kinetic energy.
- 60 mph – 13.5 kWh
- 100 mph – 37.4 kWh
- 125 mph – 58.4 kWh
If we are talking about the Greater Anglia Class 755 train, which will be limited to 100 mph, this leads me to believe, that by replacing one diesel engine with a plug compatible battery of sufficient size, the following is possible.
- On all routes, regenerative braking will be available under both diesel and electric power.
- Some shorter routes could be run on battery power, with charging using existing electrification.
- Depot and other short movements could be performed under battery power.
The South Wales Metro has already ordered tri-mode Flirts, that look like Class 755 trains.
The calculation for a Flirt-H2 train is as follows.
Train Weight – 82.3 tonnes
Passenger Weight – 10.4 tonnes
Total Weight – 92.7 tonnes
This gives these kinetic energies
- 60 mph – 9.3 kWh
- 79 mph – 16.0 kWh
- 100 mph – 25.7 kWh
It looks like the 79 mph; Flirt-H2 would only need a 16 KWh battery.
It seems when a battery is not for traction and only handles the regenerative braking, it can be surprisingly small.
Mathematical Advantages Of Hydrogen
I do wonder that on balance, there may be mathematical advantages to hydrogen; long range, less frequent refuelling and small batteries.
But as I indicated in Zillertalbahn Hydrogen Plan Dropped In Favour Of Battery Traction, the decision doesn’t always go hydrogen’s way!
Conclusion
I feel Stadler have the right approach of a modular concept that incorporates both hydrogen-powered and battery-electric trains.
I also think, if you have a route, you want to decarbonise, Stadler have the train for you.
Zillertalbahn Hydrogen Plan Dropped In Favour Of Battery Traction
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
I wrote about this order in Zillertalbahn Orders Stadler Hydrogen-Powered Trains.
I didn’t blog about it but I remembered an article a few years ago about Stadler getting an order from the Zillertalbahn.
It appears the change is down to improvements in battery technology.
Narrow-gauge battery-electric multiple units must be right up Stadler’s street, as they built the new trains for the narrow gauge Glasgow Subway.
The Anonymous Widower 