Arcola Showcases Scottish Hydrogen Conversion
The title of this post is the same as an article in the December 2021 Edition of Modern Railways.
The article has this sib-title.
Class 614 Demonstration Runs at Bo’ness Next Year
This is a key paragraph early in the article.
The aim is to build capability within the Scottish supply chain with a view to future conversion of hydrogen fleets within Scotland. The choice of a ‘314’ to provide the donor vehicles was based solely on availability, following the withdrawal of the EMU fleet by ScotRail at the end of 2019.
I don’t think they would have been my choice of donor train, as the Class 314 trains were built over forty years ago.
But, as Merseyrail have shown, British Rail trains of that era scrub up well.
The article is worth a full read and worth the cover price of the magazine, as it has details on the conversion and tips on how you might design a hydrogen train.
- All the hydrogen tanks , fuel cells and batteries are designed to be fitted in the vehicle underframes and don’t take up space in the passenger compartment.
- There is a fuel cell raft under both driving motor vehicles.
- Each raft contains a 70 kW fuel cell from Ballard and hydrogen cylinders.
- 40 kg. of hydrogen at a pressure of 350 bar can be carried in each raft.
- Waste heat from the fuel cell is used to heat the train.
- The DC traction motors have been replaced by modern three-phase AC motors.
- The hydrogen fillers come from the automotive industry, which is surely an obvious move.
- The interior looks good in the picture and has uses seats reclaimed from Pendolino refurbishment.
The article also reveals that Arcola are working with Arup on a study to convert a Class 158 DMU to hydrogen power.
Conclusion
I wish all the engineers and suppliers well, but I feel that these two projects are both driven by Scottish politics, rather than sound engineering principles.
Ballard Buys UK Fuel Cell Specialist Arcola
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Electrive.
This is the first paragraph.
The Canadian fuel cell manufacturer Ballard Power Systems acquires Arcola Energy, a British specialist for the integration of fuel cell systems in heavy commercial vehicles such as buses, trucks and trains. Both sides had previously worked together for years.
The price is stated as around forty million dollars in cash and shares.
As Arcola started just round the corner from where I live in Dalston, I wish them well!
Arcola Energy, Consortium Of Rail Industry Leaders To Deliver First Scottish Hydrogen-Powered Train
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on seanews.
The article describes the project to create a demonstrator hydrogen train for Scotland out of an old Class 314 train.
Note.
- Work will be needed on the interior.
- Is a three-car train long enough?
- Will the train still be able to use its pantograph?
The trains may be over forty years old, but they can probably made to look good, as they are closely related to these Class 508 trains, that are in superb condition on Merseyrail.
These trains were built in 1979 and are one of the oldest trains on the UK’s mainland network.
Wikipedia says this about the conversion to hydrogen.
In February 2020, ScotRail announced plans to convert one of the two remaining units, 314209, to run on hydrogen. This is a feasibility study running alongside ScotRail’s commitment to run no diesel trains by 2035.
The train will be displayed at the COP26 Climate Change Summit in Glasgow in 2021.
Arcola Energy Introduces A-Drive Fuel Cell Powertrain Platform
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on NGTNews.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Arcola Energy, a company that specializes in hydrogen and fuel cell systems, has developed a proprietary hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) powertrain platform – designed for vehicle applications requiring high-duty cycle capabilities and fast refueling.
\we will see more hydrogen powertrains produced by big companies; like Cummins and Daimler and small companies like Arcola.
Many of the smaller ones, will perish. just like many smaller car companies did in the first seventy years of the twentieth century. Who remembers names like Allard, Borgward, Humber, Panhard and Riley?
I suspect, that in the near future, wherever you live and you come up with an idea, that needs zero-carbon motive power, there will be a convenient company to provide you with that power, using hydrogen.
One of my clients with Daisy used to be Cummins Engines. They told me most firmly, that if I ever needed a diesel engine to provide power for an application, they would customise one of their engines to fit my application.
Now that Cummins have gone into hydrogen in a big way with the purchase of Hydrogenics, will we see a similar philosophy?
Permali To Develop Composite For Fuel Cell Retrofits
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Power Train Technology International.
This is the two opening paragraphs.
Composites engineering specialist Permali has won UK government funding to develop a lightweight composite solution, which is aimed at allowing existing diesel-powered buses to be retrofitted with zero-emission hydrogen powertrains.
According to the company, its R&D team, located at its main site in Gloucester, will be working on this development project in collaboration with hydrogen and fuel cell specialist company Arcola Energy and the UK National Composites Centre (NCC). The partnership is initially aimed at buses, but the new technology concept should be transferable to a wider range of vehicles, such as heavy-duty goods vehicles, trains and even aircraft.
That is an impressive introduction.
I shall be watching Permali.
Scotland’s First Hydrogen-Powered Train Showcased At COP26 Summit
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in the Scotsman.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The zero emission train project will demonstrate how the country’s railways could be decarbonised by phasing out diesel within 15 years.
The train will be based on a withdrawn Class 314 train.
These trains entered service in 1979 and are certainly not the worst of that generation of British Rail electric trains.
It will be a tight timetable to get the train ready for the COP26 summit, which is scheduled for November 1-12 in 2021.
New Hydrogen Double-Decker Bus Launched
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Air Quality News.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Arcola Energy and Optare Group have announced the launch of a hydrogen fuel cell double-decker bus.
A few points from the article about the Metrodecker H2 hydrogen bus.
It is based on the design of an electric version of the existing Metrodecker.
- It will be built in the UK.
- It will carry 90 passengers.
- It will have a range of between 200 and 250 miles.
- It is planned to enter service in 2021.
It looks like we now have three double-deck hydrogen bus projects in the UK, with one each from AlexanderDennis, Optare and Wrightbus.
The Range
The range of the bus between 200 and 250 miles, which depends on specification and capacity, deserves a comment.
This range is of the same order as that of a Tesla Model S with a 75 kWh battery.
Hydrogen-Powered Train To Be Tested In Scotland As Fuel Of Future
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Scotsman.
Points from the article.
- The train would be a converted recently-retired Class 314 train.
- The train could be tested on a heritage railway, as the battery-electric Class 230 train, was tested on the Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway.
- The technology involved will be developed by Arcola Energy of Dalston in London and the University of St. Andrews.
Dr. Ben Todd of Arcola Energy described the project as a small feasibility study.
Thurso Company Powers Up UK’s First Green Train
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the John O’Groat Journal.
Lithium-ion batteries for a hydrogen-powered Class 799 train are not the sort of product, you’d expect to be sourced from the Far North of Scotland.
Vivarail And Arcola Announce Partnership To Bring Emission-Free Trains To The UK
The title of this post is the same as this press release from Vivarail.
These are the first two paragraphs
Vivarail, designers and manufacturers of the Class 230 trains, and hydrogen fuel cell specialists Arcola Energy today announced a long-term collaboration.
The companies share a determination to help de-carbonise the UK’s transport system. Vivarail has already designed and run an emission-free battery train whilst Arcola lead the market in supplying power systems for efficient fuel cell electric vehicles, primarily buses, to the UK. Working together the companies will develop a hydrogen/battery hybrid train.
It strikes me that this could be a good fit.
Powering A Bus
In New Facility To Power Liverpool’s Buses With Hydrogen, I described Arcola Energy’s involvement in a project to create and fuel hydrogen-powered buses in conjunction with Alexander Dennis.
- A typical hybrid double-decker bus like a New Routemaster has a battery capacity of 55 kWh.
- If these Liverpool hydrogen-powered double-decker buses have serial hybrid transmission like the New Routemaster, I could envisage them having a battery of up to 100 kWh, as let’s face it, the New Routemaster design is now eight years old and battery technology has moved on.
So the Arcola Energy-sourced fuel cell must be able to continuously top-up, the battery, in the same manner as the diesel engine on a hybrid bus.
Sit in the back of a New Routemaster and you can hear the engine cutting in and out. It doesn’t seem to work very hard, even on routes like the 73, which operate at high loadings.
Powering A Class 230 Train
Vivarail’s battery-powered Class 230 train, has a battery capacity of 106 kWh.
This size of battery could certainly be changed by a hydrogen fuel cell.
But could a hydrogen fuel cell provide enough power to keep the train running?
- Vivarail are clamming a range of fifty miles, which means that their two-car battery trains are consuming around 2 kWh for every mile.
- I will assume the train is travelling at its operating speed of sixty mph, which is a mile every minute.
- To keep the battery topped up would need 2 kWh to be produced every minute.
A hydrogen fuel cell with a rating of 120 kW would be needed to power the train continuously. But as the fuel cell would only be topping up the battery, I suspect that a smaller fuel cell would be sufficient.
The Ballard fuel cell is a HD variant of their FCveloCity family.
This page on the Ballard web site is the data sheet of an HD fuel cell of their FCveloCity family.
- The fuel cells come in three sizes 60, 85 and 100 kW
- The largest fuel cell would appear to be around 1.2 m x 1 m x 0.5 m and weigh around 400 Kg.
- The fuel cell has an associated cooling subsystem, that can provide heat for the train.
This Ballard fuel cell would appear to be capable of mounting under the floor of a train.
There are probably several other fuel cells that will fit the Class 230 train.
Arcola should know the best hydrogen fuel cell for the application, in terms of size, power and cost.
The Concept Train
Vivarail’s press release describes a concept train.
The concept train will be used to demonstrate the system capability and test performance. Vivarail’s production hydrogen trains will consist of 4-cars, with 2 battery driving motor cars and 2 intermediate cars housing the fuel cell and tanks.
Vivarail seem very certain of the formation of production trains.
I am not surprised at this certaincy.
- The mathematics of battery-powered and hydrogen-powered trains is well known.
- Vivarail have experience of running their battery-powered prototype.
- Arcola have experience of the capabilities of hydrogen-power.
I also wouldn’t be surprised to see some commonality between the Alexander Dennis and Vivarail installations.
Range Of A Hydrogen-Powered Class 230 Train
Nothing is said in Vivarail’s press release about the range on hydrogen.
In Hydrogen Trains Ready To Steam Ahead, I examined Alstom’s Class 321 Breeze hydrogen train, based on an article in The Times.
I said this about range.
The Times gives the range of the train as in excess of 625 miles
The Class 321 Breeze looks to be designed for longer routes than the Class 230 train.
I would suspect that a hydrogen-powered Class 230 train would have the range to do a typical day’s work without refuelling.
Refuelling A Hydrogen-Powered Class 230 Train
I don’t think this will be a problem as Arcola appear to have the expertise to provide a complete solution.
Conclusion
This is a co-operation, where both parties are bringing strengths to the venture.
The Anonymous Widower 