Bidders Circle ‘Elvis Airport’ A Decade After The SNP Bought It For £1
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Prestwick has cost taxpayers millions since it was nationalised by the SNP in 2013. A consortium plans a bid, but can the Nats let go of Sturgeon-era stateism?
These are the first two paragraphs.
It was always going to be difficult keeping a lid on the arrival of Elvis Presley at a US military base in Prestwick, Ayrshire. “Where am I?” he asked as he stepped off the plane and into the biting wind that whipped off the Firth of Clyde.
March 3, 1960 was a momentous day for the screaming youngsters who engulfed the American singer as he set foot on British soil for the first and only time. For Presley, it was his last stop on his return from Germany after two years of military service. For Prestwick, it meant being immortalised in British trivia for its brief flirtation with The King.
But now it appears that a consortium has a plan for the airport and has made a bid.
These are my thoughts.
Prestwick Airport
Prestwick Airport, which is 32 miles SouthWest of Glasgow, is an airport that has seen busier times.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the Airport.
Note.
- The airport has two runways at right angles.
- The longer runway is 3,000 metres long.
- The red line is the electrified Ayrshire Coast Line, which runs between Glasgow Central and Ayr.
- There is a station at the airport.
- The black line going across the map is an unelectrified railway line, which eventually leads to the West Coast Main Line.
The airport does have four very useful assets.
- A very long runway capable of handling the largest and heaviest aircraft.
- A railway station.
- Plenty of space.
- The airport has plenty of available landing and take-off slots.
I also suspect that a rail connection could be developed to the West Coast Main Line.
Prestwick As A Cargo Airport
Someone commenting in The Times, suggested that Prestwick could become a cargo airport.
- The main runway could accommodate the largest and heaviest cargo aircraft.
- There is space for stands for large aircraft and warehouses.
- A rail link to the electrified West Coast Main Line could be built.
The airport could have a very high capacity.
A Rail Connection To The West Coast Main Line
This could be very beneficial for air-cargo at Prestwick.
- It would be less than ninety miles to the West Coast Main Line.
- It is only single-track as British Rail removed the second track.
- Cargo Services could be run all over the UK mainland.
- There could even be an airport service from Carlisle.
A zero-carbon rail service for freight, passengers and staff from both Glasgow and Carlisle would enhance the green credentials of the airport.
Where Would Planes Fly?
It looks like a modern freighter aircraft like a Boeing 747-8F could fly at maximum weight to nearly all the USA.
But because Prestwick Airport is further North, It does possibly have a wider range of airports, it can reach.
What Is The Closest Airport In North America?
The two airports on Newfoundland; Gander and St. John’s are probably the two closest being about 2,000 miles from Prestwick.
- Both airports have long runways.
- I suspect a rail terminal could be arranged at the airport to take cargo through the Chunnel to Europe.
- Could USAF Galaxies even be used to bring over American tanks and guns for Ukraine? The range of a Galaxy at maximum weight is 2,600 miles.
- They could be delivered by rail to Ukraine.
I suspect there will be times, where the shorter routes could be useful.
Could Cargo Change Planes At Prestwick?
On some routes like perhaps New York and India, might it be more efficient to change planes at Prestwick.
Could Cargo Planes Refuel At Prestwick?
Planes can only fly so far and is Prestwick in the right place to refuel a long flight?
Prestwick Could Be A Viable Cargo Airport For North America?
I am convinced that Prestwick and North American could be a viable air cargo route.
Zero-Carbon Air Cargo
In the next few years, Scotland will have much more electricity, than it needs, due to all the wind farms in the seas around the country and much of the spare electricity could be converted into hydrogen.
So does a cargo operator plan to run zero-carbon aircraft powered by hydrogen between North America and Prestwick?
- Remember it’s only 2,000 miles between St. John’s or Gander and Prestwick.
- The ideal aircraft to convert to hydrogen, must surely be an Airbus A 380, as there’s a lot of space in the fuselage for a hydrogen tank.
- Cargo could be brought to Prestwick in zero-carbon trains from all over the UK.
Amazon might like the idea of zero-carbon parcels across the pond!
Could An Airbus A380 Be Converted To Hydrogen?
This article on Simple Flying is entitled Airbus Plans A380 Hydrogen Flights In 2026 After Successful Power On Of ZEROe Engine.
The header picture shows a visualisation of an Airbus A 380, with a fifth engine with a propeller mounted on the top of the fuselage. The A 380 will be testing this electric engine, so that it can be fitted in the ZEROe Turboprop sometime around 2030.
This is a visualisation of the ZEROe Turboprop.
Note,
- The hydrogen tank will probably be behind the passenger compartment.
- The A 380, that will be testing the engine is no ordinary A 380. It is the very first and Airbus use it as a flying laboratory for new technology.
- I wouldn’t bet against one of its next jobs, is to test turbofan engines running on hydrogen.
I wouldn’t be surprised that in a few years, Airbus demonstrate an A 380 flying between Europe and North America on hydrogen.
A Zero-Carbon Air Bridge Between Europe And North America
Or does Westjet fancy a zero-carbon shuttle service, which would appeal to the Gretas of this world?
It has been rumoured, that the possible buyers of Prestwick are linked to Westjet.
As soon, as someone announces, a flight like this across the Atlantic, I’ll be signing up!
If the worse should happen, which I think would be unlikely, it would surely be a less painful death, than that of my wife’s from a rare cancer.
Conclusion
There are certainly, possibilities at Prestwick.
Potato Waste Used In New Hydrogen Production Research In P.E.I.
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Fuel News.
This is the sub-heading.
UPEI researchers are looking for new ways to produce hydrogen.
These are the first three paragraphs.
University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) researchers have cooked up new hydrogen production recipes that include waste products like potato peelings, sawdust and tunicate.
An assistant professor in the Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering at UPEI, Yulin Hu is one of a group of researchers seeking novel ways to generate hydrogen to replace fossil fuels and combat the effects of climate change.
One hydrogen production research project is focused on extracting H2 from potato peelings. The potato waste idea is especially notable due to Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) being the Canadian province known for its potatoes.
Note.
Do the Canadians get their King Edwards from Prince Edward Island?
The potato is named after Edward VII according to its Wikipedia entry.
Tunicates are marine invertebrates.
This paragraph summarises some of the research.
The project involving sawdust is looking at utilizing sawdust to capture carbon dioxide. As for the one focused on tunicate, the idea behind that project is to synthesize tunicate waste, taking the waste and converting it into bio fertilizer.
The Canadian government must be impressed as they have given a six-figure grant for the research.
Conclusion
There’s some wacky research out there and some of it might be worth pursuing.
Global First For Formula 1: CEVA Logistics Transports Ferrari Equipment By Rail
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Container News.
This is the sub-heading.
CEVA Logistics, CMA CGM-owned third-party logistics provider, recently designed an innovative rail transport solution for Scuderia Ferrari’s F1 racing team in North America
These paragraphs outline the transport.
In a global first for Formula 1, Ferrari equipment is being transported by rail between three North American F1 grand prix races as part of the two companies’ efforts to cut carbon emissions.
Since the start of their cooperation in 2022, CEVA has been altering the Scuderia Ferrari logistics programme. As CEVA guarantees that the equipment reaches each of the 23 Grand Prix racing venues on schedule, the flow of the six different 45-ton equipment kits that travel the world has shifted away from air freight and toward a primary combination of ocean and road freight.
Carbon savings were 90 % compared to flying and 32 % compared to an all-road route.
But as the containers appeared to have travelled 4,000 miles between Montreal to Las Vegas via Austin, probably hauled by a diesel locomotive, how much extra carbon savings could have been achieved if a hydrogen-powered locomotive had been used?
Ultra Safe Nuclear, Hyundai Engineering, SK Ecoplant Sign MOU For Clean Hydrogen Production
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation, the U.S.-based global leader in the deployment of fourth-generation gas-cooled microreactors, Hyundai Engineering (Representative Director Hong Hyun-sung) and SK ecoplant (Representative Director Park Kyung-il) are teaming up to conduct research and development for carbon-free hydrogen production. The three companies signed an MOU on Thursday, April 20th for the construction of a “Hydrogen Micro Hub” at the SK ecoplant headquarters in Seoul’s Jongno-gu.
The “Hydrogen Micro Hub” is a facility that produces hydrogen by applying a high-temperature electrolysis process of solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOEC) to the electricity and high-temperature steam generated by USNC’s Micro-Modular™ Reactor (MMR®). This is a carbon-free hydrogen production method that extracts hydrogen by decomposing water with electricity generated from nuclear power.
Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation has a web site.
- Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation, is a U.S. corporation headquartered in Seattle.
- Canada appears to be deeply involved.
- Innovate UK appears to have dished out a grant.
- They appear to have sold five of their MMRs.
The company could be a serious competitor in the market for small modular nuclear reactors.
Hydrogen Train To Be Demonstrated In Québec
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the Railway Gazette.
These two paragraphs outline the project.
An Alstom Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel cell multiple-unit is to operate demonstration passenger services on the Chemin de fer de Charlevoix from June 17 to September 30.
The return service along the St Lawrence River between Parc de la Chute-Montmorency on the outskirts of Québec City and Baie-St-Paul is being organised by the province, short line operator Chemin de fer Charlevoix, tourist train operator Train de Charlevoix, hydrogen production technology company HTEC and Harnois Énergies, which will produce the green hydrogen at its Québec City site.
The Train de Charlevoix runs along the St. Lawrence River and is described on the web site as a unique experience.
I have felt for some time, that one of the uses of zero-carbon trains is as tourist trains, on quiet lines, where noise is probably not welcome.
It might even change the future of some lightly-used lines.
First Offtake Deal Signed For 500MW/4,000MWh Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage Project In California
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Energy Storage News.
These three paragraphs explain the deal.
Advanced compressed air energy storage (A-CAES) company Hydrostor has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for one of its flagship large-scale projects in California.
Central Coast Community Energy, one of California’s several dozen Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) non-profit energy suppliers, has signed a 200MW/1,600MWh energy storage PPA with a 25-year term with Toronto-headquartered Hydrostor for its Willow Rock Energy Storage Center.
That’s just under half of the output and capacity of the planned 8-hour, long-duration energy storage (LDES) facility, which is designed to be 500MW/4,000MWh. This is its first offtake deal, but the company is in discussion for others to take the rest of the plant’s available resource.
The article says that Hydrostor aim to have the plant online by 2028.
This segment describes their current projects.
It is currently working on large-scale projects with around 9GWh storage capacity in total across two sites in California as well as another in Australia.
Together with Willow Rock in Kern County, Hydrostor is developing the 400MW/3,200MWh Pechos Energy Storage Center in San Luis Obispo County, California, and the 200MW/1,500MWh Silver City Energy Storage Center in Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia.
On its UK Projects page, Highview talks about a 200MW/2.5GWh facility in Yorkshire, which puts the two companies in similar markets, with Hydrostor appearing to have slightly larger systems under development.
Conclusion
It will be interesting to see how this technology progresses and which company does best in what is a very large energy storage market.
Better Fuel Technology
Better Fuel Technology is a Canadian company and has this web site.
They appear to use hydrogen to improve the fuel economy of vehicles in an unusual way.
This page on their web site is entitled Facts About HHO.
Under a heading of How Hydrogen Generators For Vehicles Work, this is said.
The greatest misconception about hydrogen is that we are making fuel from water. This is entirely incorrect and if it were true, would violate several laws of physics.
It is NOT possible to generate hydrogen at a rate fast enough to be used as the primary fuel.
Hydrogen powered cars do exist. They are designed to use Hydrogen as primary fuel. The hydrogen is created in advance. Just as every ordinary car requires a tank for gasoline, hydrogen is stored within cylinders on board the vehicle.
Our equipment is an inexpensive retrofit, compatible with any vehicle type and size.
Hydrogen assists the combustion process of the existing fuel. Although you will enjoy substantial fuel savings, you will still have to use the primary fuel.
Hydrogen generators use electricity from the battery of the vehicle to split the water (H2O) into its basic elements of oxygen and hydrogen. The generated hydrogen is then injected into the air stream of the vehicle to improve combustion efficiency and fuel economy.
In a standard engine, the combustion cycle is very fast: 0.007 seconds. Most of the fuel molecules are too large to burn completely in this extremely limited time.
The situation is made worse by the fact that the spark plug only ignites a small percentage of the fuel. The fire generated must cascade from one fuel molecule to the next as it propagates through the combustion chamber of the engine. This wastes precious time.
Hydrogen burns and travels through the combustion chamber 10X faster than a gasoline flame. Hydrogen fills the space between fuel molecules and has the effect of making them closer together. The flame travels faster and the fuel is exposed to flame sooner and for a longer period of time. The result is a cleaner, more complete burn.
You can think of hydrogen as a giant spark plug in your engine; igniting all the fuel instead of leaving much of it unburned.The science behind hydrogen injection has been well documented and understood. It has been known for over thirty years that the addition of hydrogen to fossil fuels, burned in internal combustion engines, will increase the efficiency of the engine.
This concept has been validated by a multitude of papers published by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).
This is all very interesting.
Cummins Fuel Cell Technology Powers Coradia iLint Fleet In Germany
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Green Car Congress.
This is the first paragraph.
Cummins is powering the world’s first fleet of hydrogen trains in Bremervörde, Lower Saxony, Germany. The Alstom Coradia iLint trains (earlier post) are outfitted with Cummins fuel cell systems and will run on the world’s first 100%-hydrogen train route in passenger operation. The first zero-emissions passenger trains in the 14-train fleet arrived in mid-summer.
I rode the prototype in March 2019 and wrote My First Ride In An Alstom Coradia iLint.
I took this picture at the time.
Note.
- The new fleet seem to have a slightly different front end with a snow plough, and a new colour scheme.
- According to the article, the Cummins fuel cell systems were assembled in Germany.
I have a few thoughts.
Cummins Fuel Cells
I must admit, I was a bit surprised to see that Cummins fuel cells are being used, as most other companies seem to be using Ballard.
But, having worked with Cummins on diesel engine testing and seen their thoroughness, I’m sure that their fuel cells will do a good job.
Is The Cummins Choice About Marketing?
Consider.
- Alstom has manufactured or assembled trains for the US market at Hornell, New York.
- Cummins is a large United States company.
- United States and Canadian railways are standard gauge, like most of Europe.
- United States and Canadian railways have a lot of track mileage without electrification.
- United States and Canadian railways use right hand running as does Germany.
- The Coradia iLint doesn’t need any electrification.
- The Coradia iLint has a range of 600–800 kilometres (370–500 mi) on a full tank of hydrogen.
I suspect that a German-specification, Coradia iLint might be possible to run in the United States and Canada, with only a different interior and signage.
If you are an Alstom train salesman in the United States, selling a commuter train to American cities and transit authorities, must be easier if the train has a substantial United States content.
I don’t think Cummins will be worried that the smart new train has their fuel cells, as it might help convert truck, van and car drivers to Cummins hydrogen technology.
I wouldn’t be surprised to learn, that Alstom got a premium deal from Cummins.
Are Hydrogen-Powered Trains Suited To North America?
Consider.
- There is a lot of track without electrification.
- Distances are long, which makes electrification expensive.
- Providing hydrogen for trains should be no more difficult than in Europe.
- In my experience hydrogen trains are a better passenger experience than diesel, in terms of noise and vibration.
I suspect that Alstom/Cummins could sell a lot of hydrogen-powered trains in the North America.
Sustainable Marine Delivers Floating Tidal Power To Nova Scotia Grid
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Renewable Energy Magazine.
This is the first paragraph.
Ocean energy pioneer Sustainable Marine has successfully harnessed the enormous tidal currents in Canada’s Bay of Fundy, delivering the first floating in-stream tidal power to Nova Scotia’s grid.
This Google Map shows the Bay Of Fundy.
Note.
- The hydrology of the Bay of Fundy has the highest tidal range in the world of sixteen metres, against a worldwide average of about a metre.
- According to the Renewable Energy Magazine article, Nova Scotia has allocated circa 30MW of capacity via demonstration permits.
- The article also indicates that up to 2.5 GW of clean and predictable energy for Canada could be generated.
- By comparison Hinckley Point C nuclear power station will generate 3.26 GW.
The Bay of Fundy would be the largest tidal power station in the world.
But this list in Wikipedia gives these proposed tidal power stations.
- Incheon Tidal Power Station – 1.32 GW
- Severn Barrage – 8.64 GW
- Penzhin Tidal Power Plant Project – 87 GW
There are another two Russian proposals and a South Korean one.
Note.
- There are some large numbers.
- There are also some huge ambitions and massive budgets.
But will we ever see large scale tidal power stations?
The Anonymous Widower 