Dual-Fuel Class 37 And 66 Locomotive Concepts Unveiled
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the first paragraph.
G-volution and SBL-Rail have produced design concepts for dual-fuel versions of Class 37 and 66 locomotives, which would be able to run on diesel with biomethane, biopropane or hydrogen.
Note.
- There are about sixty Class 37 locomotives in service or stored.
- 480 Class 66 locomotives were originally produced and over 300 must still be in service.
- Both locomotives have electric transmissions.
- G-volution are developing a dual-fuel Class 180 train, that I wrote about in Grand Central DMU To Be Used For Dual-Fuel Trial.
- Two of the design concepts involve replacing the current diesel engines with modern Cummins engines, that meet current emission regulations.
- Fuel savings of ten percent are mentioned for one engine conversion.
This is said about the dual-fuel conversions.
Biomethane and biopropane dual fuel engines would offer significant carbon and cost savings verses diesel. Hydrogen has the potential to do so if produced from renewable sources, but would need to be ‘much cheaper’ than it is today.
The article then gives a table, which shows the various savings.
The article comes to these conclusions.
- Biomethane and biopropane prices are expected to fall, as production increases.
- Green hydrogen is too expensive, but costs will come down.
- More rises in the price of diesel, will tilt costs towards alternative fuels.
I feel that to get the emissions and costs down, there would need to be a bit of cheating.
Look at this picture of a Class 66 locomotive under 25 KVAC electrification.
I wonder, if a pantograph and all the electrical gubbins could be fitted to a Class 66 locomotive to create a genuine electro-diesel locomotive.
- It would use electrification, where it exists.
- It would use the existing electric transmission.
- I do suspect though that the Class 37 locomotive may be more difficult to convert because of its age.
It should be noted that in GB Railfreight Plans Order For Future-Proofed Bi-Mode Locomotives, I talk about how GB Railfreight are proposing to purchase a fleet of new electro-diesel freight locomotives, that appears will have Class 66 locomotive performance on both electrification and diesel.
The Involvement Of Cummins
Cummins, who are one of the world’s largest manufacturers of diesel engines, could have a lot to lose from the move to zero-carbon.
- But they have adopted an if-you-can’t-them-join-them philosophy to hydrogen.
- They have bought up hydrogen companies like Hydrogenics.
- They are developing internal combustion engines that can run on hydrogen.
- Cummins have claimed to me, that they will try to fill any niche market with their engines, so it would be likely, they would apply that philosohy to hydrogen.
I believe that Cummins will not give up their market share without a fight.
I would expect, Cummins will actively support G-volution’s plans, if it would sell upwards of fifty large engines.
Conclusion
I have four main conclusions.
- I believe that this study could lead to a very significant and worthwhile updating of a Class 66 locomotive.
- The locomotive would need to be modified so it could use electrification.
- But I am more dubious, that this could be done with the Class 37 locomotive.
- I also believe that Cummins will be part of the solution.
In the wider world, I also believe that to retain their turnover and market share, Cummins and the other big diesel engine manufacturers will come up with increasingly innovative solutions.
Caterpillar, Cummins, Deutz, JCB, MTU and others will not give up multi-billion businesses without a fight.
West Midlands To Run ‘Largest Hydrogen Bus Fleet’ Due To New Funding
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These are a few points from the article.
- The region is set to get 124 new hydrogen vehicles.
- The West Midlands is set to run the UK’s largest hydrogen bus fleet after securing new funding.
- The region will get 124 new buses after it won £30m from the Department for Transport to fund a switchover.
- Twenty four of the new vehicles will be articulated tram-style buses set to run on a new bus priority route between Walsall, Birmingham and Solihull.
Does the last statement mean, that they will buying a hundred double-decker hydrogen buses?
A few thoughts.
Riding Birmingham’s New Hydrogen-Powered Buses
These are a few pictures from Riding Birmingham’s New Hydrogen-Powered Buses.
They were excellent buses from Wrightbus.
The Tram Style Buses
The Belgian firm; Van Hool have a product called Exquicity. This video shows them working in Pau in France.
These tram buses run on rubber types and are powered by hydrogen.
Similar buses running in Belfast are diesel-electric.
Could these be what the article refers to as tram-style buses?
It should be noted, that the West Midlands and Pau have bought their hydrogen filling stations from ITM Power in Sheffield.
So has there has been a spot of the Entente Cordiale between Pau and the West Midlands?
Will The West Midlands Buy The Other Hundred Buses From Wrightbus?
There doesn’t seem to be any problems on the web about the initial fleet, so I suspect they will.
It should also be noted that Wrightbus make the following types of zero-emission buses.
- StreetDeck – Hydroliner FCEV – Double-deck hydrogen bus
- StreetDeck – Electroliner BEV – Double-deck battery bus
- GB Kite – Hydroliner FCEV – Single-deck hydrogen bus
- GB Kite – Electroliner BEV – Single-deck battery bus
These would surely enable the West Midlands to mic-and-match according to their needs.
Hysata – Electrolyser Breaks Efficiency Records, Enabling World-Beating Green Hydrogen Cost
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Central.
These three paragraphs explain what Hysata have achieved.
Hysata – electrolyser breaks efficiency records, enabling world-beating green hydrogen cost.
Hysata’s world-leading hydrogen electrolyser technology has been recognised on the global stage with ground-breaking research published in top tier peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature Communications.
The research confirms Hysata’s ‘capillary-fed electrolysis cell’ can produce green hydrogen from water at 98% cell energy efficiency, well above International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) 2050 target and significantly better than existing electrolyser technologies, enabling a hydrogen production cost well below A$2/kg (US$1.50/kg).
Note.
- Hysata are an Australian company.
- The research and its results have have met the gold standard of pier review in a respected journal.
Their efficiency levels would appear to be breathtaking.
I have some more information and a couple of thoughts.
The Technology
This article on New Atlas is entitled Record-Breaking Hydrogen Electrolyzer Claims 95% Efficiency, gives a full overview of the technology.
It does appear that Hysata have shown tremendous attention to detail to raise the efficiency.
The Efficiency
In Can The UK Have A Capacity To Create Five GW Of Green Hydrogen?, I said the following.
Ryze Hydrogen are building the Herne Bay electrolyser.
- It will consume 23 MW of solar and wind power.
- It will produce ten tonnes of hydrogen per day.
The electrolyser will consume 552 MWh to produce ten tonnes of hydrogen, so creating one tonne of hydrogen needs 55.2 MWh of electricity.
55.2 MWh/tonne is 55.2 kWh/kg.
Hysata are claiming on their web site, that their electrolysers have 95% efficiency, which is 41.5 kWh/kg.
- A megawatt of electricity at Herne Bay will produce 18.1 Kg of hydrogen.
- A megawatt of electricity in a Hysata electrolyser will produce 24.1 Kg of hydrogen.
That is 33 % more.
UK On Track To Reach 4,000 Zero Emission Bus Pledge With £200 Million Boost
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from the Government.
These are the main points of the press release.
- Nearly 1,000 more zero-emission buses to be funded in towns and cities across the country, bringing the total funded in England to 2000 so far under this government.
- A further 600 zero-emission buses have been funded in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Comes as consultation launched on ending sale of all new non-zero emission buses from 2025 to 2032.
- Government continues taking unprecedented action to hit net zero and level up transport across the country.
Areas to get the new buses include.
- Blackpool
- Greater Manchester
- Hertfordshire
- Norfolk
- North Yorkshire
- Nottingham
- Oxfordshire
- Portsmouth
- South Yorkshire
- West Midlands
- West Yorkshire
- York
I would also like to see the government fund trials for the conversion of suitable buses to zero carbon. I certainly believe that London’s New Routemaster buses could be converted to hydrogen.
ScotWind N3 Offshore Wind Farm
I introduced this wind farm in ScotWind Offshore Wind Leasing Delivers Major Boost To Scotland’s Net Zero Aspirations as Lease 15 – The Odd Bid Out.
I said this.
In any design competition, there is usually at least one design, that is not look like any of the others.
In the successful bids for the ScotWind leases, the bid from Magnora ASA stands out.
- The company has an unusual home page on its offshore wind web site.
- This page on their web site outlines their project.
- It will be technology agnostic, with 15MW turbines and a total capacity of 500MW
- It will use floating offshore wind with a concrete floater
- It is estimated, that it will have a capacity factor of 56 %.
- The water depth will be an astonishing 106-125m
- The construction and operation will use local facilities at Stornoway and Kishorn Ports.
- The floater will have local and Scottish content.
- The project will use UK operated vessels.
- Hydrogen is mentioned.
- Consent is planned for 2026, with construction starting in 2028 and completion in 2030.
This project could serve as a model for wind farms all round the world with a 500 MW power station, hydrogen production and local involvement and construction.
I have some thoughts.
The Location Of The Windfarm
This Google Map shows the area between Stornaway and Kishorn.
Note.
- The island in the North-West of the map is Lewis and Harris.
- The windfarm will be to the North-West of the island.
- Stornaway is on the isthmus, that connects the small peninsular on the East of the island.
- The port of Stornaway is on the South side of the isthmus.
- The port of Kishorn is shown by the red arrow.
This second Google Map shows the town of Stornaway.
Note that Stornaway has a substantial airport in the East and a large port.
This third Google Map shows Loch Kishorn in more detail.
Kishorn Yard at the Kishorn Port was originally built to create the large structures in steel and concrete for the development of North Sea Oil. This is an extract from the Wikipedia entry.
The yard was therefore well suited to build the 600,000-tonne concrete Ninian Central Platform, which was built in 1978. Material was supplied by sea and when complete the platform needed seven tugs to tow it to its operating position in the North Sea. The Ninian Central Platform still holds the record as the largest movable object ever created by man.
If the yard could build the Ninian Central Platform, I’m sure that Magnora ASA intend to build the concrete floater in Loch Kishorn.
The Floating Wind Turbines
In visualisations on the site, the floating wind turbines are shown as sitting on floating three-pointed star structures.
As Technip UK are partners in the project and I suspect they are a subsidiary of TechnipFMC, who are a well-known company described like this in Wikipedia.
TechnipFMC plc is a French-American, UK-domiciled global oil and gas company that provides complete project life cycle services for the energy industry.
The company would certainly have the expertise to design a floating platform for a wind farm.
Like the WindFloat, it could be based on semi-submersible offshore platform technology.
The Magnora web site, say that 15 MW wind turbines will be used, so these will probably be some of the largest wind turbines in the world.
Currently, the largest floating wind turbines are the 9.5 MW units at the Kincardine Wind Farm in Scotland.
33 x 15 MW wind turbines would give a capacity of 495 MW.
I suspect the turbines would be towed to Stornaway or Kishorn for major servicing.
What Will The Concrete Floater Do?
There are a variety of tasks that the concrete floater could handle.
- It could collect the electricity from the wind turbines. I suspect this would give advantages in the connection and disconnection of individual turbines into the windfarm.
- Any electricity conversion necessary would be handled on the floater.
- The floater would handle the seaward end of the connection to the shore.
- There could be a battery or energy storage device on the floater.
- Could a Gravitricity battery or something similar be built into the floater?
- Magnora mention hydrogen on their web site. Could an electrolyser be built on the floater and the hydrogen distributed to Lewis and Harris by pipeline?
Some oil and gas platforms are very comprehensive and there is no reason why there can’t be substantial processing done on the floater.
The Concrete Floater
According to Wikipedia, offshore concrete structures have been in use successfully for about 50 years. Nearly fifty are in use in the oil and gas industry.
Wikipedia introduces its section on floating concrete structures like this.
Since concrete is quite resistant to corrosion from salt water and keeps maintenance costs low, floating concrete structures have become increasingly attractive to the oil and gas industry in the last two decades.
I also wonder if a floating concrete structure would make a good hydrogen storage tank, if there is electrolysis on the floater on the to turn electricity into hydrogen.
Conclusion
My original conclusion after reading about this wind farm was.
This project could serve as a model for wind farms all round the world with a 500 MW power station, hydrogen production and local involvement and construction.
I have no reason to change my mind and feel that the concept may have even more possibilities.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Trucks And H2 Infrastructure Could Benefit From New Legislation
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Fuel News.
Politicians from both main parties in the United States are promoting a Hydrogen for Trucks Act, to support the conversion of domestic trucking from diesel to hydrogen.
These are the three main parts of the Act
- Provide incentives for adopting hydrogen fuel cell trucks by covering the difference in cost between them and conventional diesel-powered vehicles.
- Encourage tandem fueling station and vehicle deployment, to ensure that one doesn’t need to exist before the other is in place, solidifying the overall fueling infrastructure.
- Collect data and establish benchmarks for various forms of fleet operation, helping to accelerate deployment by incentivizing private investment.
We could do with an Act like this in the UK.
But whereas the United States would start with hydrogen for trucks, we would probably start with hydrogen for buses.
Shell And ScottishPower Win Bids To Develop 5 GW Of Floating Wind Power In The UK
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Shell.
This is three paragraphs from the press release.
Shell and ScottishPower have secured joint offers for seabed rights to develop large-scale floating wind farms as part of Crown Estate Scotland’s ScotWind leasing. The partners have won two sites representing a total of 5 gigawatts (GW) off the east and north-east coast of Scotland.
The new wind farms will be delivered through two joint ventures called MarramWind and CampionWind. They bring together ScottishPower’s and Shell’s decades of experience working offshore and significant presence in Scotland, as well as their strong innovation capabilities for delivering world-class offshore energy projects.
The development, construction and operation of ScotWind projects is set to bring new skilled jobs and manufacturing opportunities and boost local supply chains.
ScottishPower are actually involved in three large ScotWind projects; one by themselves and two in partnership with Shell.
MacHairWind
MachairWind is a project that Scottish Power is developing alone.
- It has its own page on the ScottishPower Renewables web site.
- It will be a 2 GW wind farm to the North-West of Islay.
- The turbines will be on fixed foundations.
I wrote about this project in MacHairWind Wind Farm.
MarramWind And CampionWind
These two wind farms are being developed in partnership with Shell.
They both have their own web sites.
MarramWind’s web site has this introduction.
ScottishPower and Shell have joined forces to develop the MarramWind offshore windfarm following success in the recent ScotWind auction process by Crown Estate Scotland.
Located 75 kilometres off the North East coast of Scotland in water depths averaging 100 metres, the proposed MarramWind floating offshore windfarm could deliver up to 3 gigawatts (GW) of cleaner renewable energy.
This map clipped from the MarramWind web site, shows the location of the wind farm.
CampionWind’s web site has this introduction.
ScottishPower and Shell have joined forces to develop the CampionWind offshore windfarm following success in the recent ScotWind auction process by Crown Estate Scotland.
Located 100 kilometres from the east coast of Scotland, in water depths averaging 77 metres, the proposed CampionWind floating offshore windfarm could deliver up to 2 gigawatts (GW) of cleaner renewable energy.
This map clipped from the CampionWind web site, shows the location of the wind farm.
Note.
- The two wind farms will be within a few miles of each other.
- Both wind farms will use floating wind turbines.
- The water is a bit deeper at MarramWind, but this surely doesn’t bother a floating turbine.
- MarramWind and CampionWind will have a total capacity of 5 GW.
- Hywind Scotland is the world’s first commercial wind farm using floating wind turbines, situated 29 kilometres off Peterhead. This wind farm is only 30 MW, but in its first years of operation has achieved a capacity factor of over 50 %.
- The proposed turbines at Northern Horizons‘ 10 GW wind farm, which is 130 kilometres to the North-East of Shetland will be 20 MW giants and nearly as tall as The Shard in London.
So will Scottish Power and Shell design and build a combined field, similar in concept to Northern Horizons’ wind farm, using an armada of 250 floating wind turbines?
- The wind turbines might be moored around a fixed or floating mother platform or structure, that will collect the electricity and deliver it to the shore.
- Turbines could be serviced in situ or moved into port, as needed.
- Extending the wind farm could just be a matter of mooring the extra turbines in position and then connecting them to the mother platform.
- Is there a convenient disused oil or gas platform, that could be repurposed as the mother platform?
It certainly would appear to be a way of building large offshore fields in deep waters.
Where Would The Combined MarramWind And CampionWind Rank In Terms of UK Wind Farms?
Consider.
- MarramWind and CampionWind will have a total capacity of 5 GW.
- Phase one of the Hornsea Wind Farm is the largest offshore wind farm in the world, with a capacity of just over 1.2 GW and when complete it will have a capacity of 6 GW.
- Northern Horizons is planned to be 10 GW.
- The East Anglian Array could be as large as 7.2 GW.
- The Dogger Bank Wind Farm is planned to be as large as 4.8 MW.
- Norfolk Vanguard and Norfolk Boreas are a pair of 1.8 GW wind farms.
- MacHairWind will be a 2 GW wind farm.
Note.
- This is not a complete list of large wind farms in the development pipeline.
- BP have obtained leases, but have not published their plans.
- Most farms under development are at least one GW.
- These farms are a total of 38.6 GW.
The Combined MarramWind and CampionWind would be one of several large wind farms around 5 GW.
There Is A Desperate Need For Energy Storage
If we are generating upwards of 40 GW of wind and solar energy in the UK, there will be a desperate need for energy storage to cover for the times, when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine.
Scotland should be OK, as there are various energy storage projects in development.
- The 1.5 GW/ 30 GWh Coire Glas project is according to SSE shovel-ready and has planning permission.
- The 450 MW/2.8 GWh Red John project is being constructed.
- Drax, ILI Group and SSE have several other projects under development.
So what would happen in the South?
The government appears to be on the case as I wrote in Ministerial Roundtable Seeks To Unlock Investment In UK Energy Storage.
But there is also the possibility of using hydrogen.
- Hydrogen could be created by a series of giant electrolysers.
- It could be blended with natural gas to eke out our natural gas and save carbon. According to HyDeploy, it appears that up to 20 % can be added, without needing to change boilers and appliances.
- It can be stored in depleted offshore gas fields.
- It can be used to power heavy transport like buses, trucks, trains and ships.
- It can be burned in gas-fired power stations to generate electricity.
Hydrogen can also be used as a feedstock or green energy source for the making of chemicals, concrete and steel.
Conclusion
We are approaching the end of the first phase of the development of renewable energy in the UK.
Massive floating wind farms using armadas of floating wind farms, a large expansion of pumped storage hydro and a huge expansion of the use of hydrogen will see us through to a carbon-free future.
Germany Weighs Norway Hydrogen Pipeline To Avoid Russian Energy
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Central.
This the introductory paragraphs.
Germany and Norway are considering building a hydrogen pipeline linking the two nations to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy supplies.
The countries plan to soon conduct a feasibility study on the project that would eventually transport green hydrogen from Norway to Germany, they said after a meeting between German Economy Minister Robert Habeck and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.
There is a joint statement that gives more details.
Developments like this and lots of wind power in the North Sea and around the UK, are the sort of actions, that could seriously reduce the size of Russia’s oil and gas industry and the money it pays to that group of war criminals like Vlad the Mad and his friends.
Shell Resurrects Plans For Rejected North Sea Gasfield
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the first two paragraphs.
Shell has submitted a revised plan for a North Sea gasfield that was rejected by regulators on environmental grounds last year.
The oil and gas major is seeking to develop the Jackdaw field, about 155 miles east of Aberdeen, which it says could produce 6.5 per cent of UK domestic gas output at peak — enough to heat 1.4 million homes. It hopes to start production in 2025 at the field, which would keep producing until 2033.
Other points in the article include.
- The platform would be unmanned.
- One of the problems with the field is that the gas naturally contains a lot of carbon dioxide.
- Shell plans to capture and store this carbon dioxide.
- The gas would be brought to shore using a nineteen mile pipeline to the Shearwater platform.
Surprisingly, the Shearwater platform is connected by the 295 mile SEAL pipeline to the Bacton terminal in Norfolk. But then Bacton is connected by the BBL pipeline to the Netherlands.
- There are depleted gas fields connected to Bacton, that can be used to store the carbon dioxide from the Jackdaw gas field.
- Shell manage the BBL pipeline.
- Shell are sitting in the middle with gas, that can be sold to the highest bidder.
It could be good for Shell without a great deal of expenditure on infrastructure.
In the short term, Jackdaw could make up our gas shortage, but as we start to blend wind-produced hydrogen into the gas network, we can export the surplus gas to the Continent. Shell might have plans for other gas fields to participate in the export of British gas to Germany, that has been replaced by wind-produced hydrogen.
It would be an interesting point, as to who would be responsible for the carbon dioxide produced by Jackdaw’s gas, that is burned in Germany. I suspect it will be the Germans.
In the long-term, when Shearwater and Jackdaw have given up all their gas, I wonder if Shell’s plans could be.
- Surround the platforms serving these fields with floating wind farms.
- Put a giant electrolyser on the Shearwater platform and bring hydrogen to the shore in the SEAL pipeline.
- Distribute the hydrogen from Bacton to the UK or through the BBL pipeline to the Continent.
I feel that Shell could do very nicely thank you out of the Jackdaw gas-field.
But it is also a plan, that produces a lot of energy, without emitting vast amounts of carbon dioxide.
The Neighbourhood Leading A Green Energy Revolution
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These are the first two paragraphs.
An ambitious target of using hydrogen to partly power homes in the UK within three years has been set by the National Grid, the BBC has learned. On the east coast of Scotland, a small neighbourhood is playing a key role in this energy revolution.
From next year, about 300 homes in Buckhaven, and Methil, in the area of Levenmouth, will be powered by green hydrogen gas in a project called H100. Customers will be offered free hydrogen-ready boilers and cookers in the scheme, which will initially last five and a half years.
I described the H100 Project in ‘World First’: SGN Launches Bid For 300 Green Hydrogen Homes Project In Fife.
This is the home page of the H100 Fife project web site.
This Google Map shows part of Buckhaven.
Note the wind turbine, that will produce the hydrogen is in the South-East corner of the map.
The Anonymous Widower 