A Cool Move To Keep Emissions On Track
The title of this post is the same as that of this press release from Tesco.
This is the body of the release.
- Tesco and DRS partner on a new refrigerated rail freight service that will take 40 lorries off the road for every journey it makes
- Helping Tesco to deliver Christmas, the service will run seven days a week and replace 7.3 million road miles with greener distribution
- New service supports Tesco’s commitment to reach net zero emissions in its operations by 2035
Tesco and Direct Rail Services (DRS) have partnered to introduce a cool new service to Britain’s railways.
The new service will be the first time Tesco has used refrigerated rail freight in the UK, distributing chilled goods from Tilbury to Coatbridge by low CO2 rail twice a day, seven days a week. This means that rail freight will play an even bigger role in helping Tesco to deliver Christmas this year and over the next couple of weeks this new service will transport hundreds of different products, including festive favourites such as sprouts, parsnips, carrots, onions, oranges and lemons just in time for that all important Christmas dinner.
Using rail has significant environmental benefits. The 415-mile route will use DRS’s Class 88 bi-mode electric locomotives which can run on electricity and produce zero exhaust and greenhouse gas emissions. This service alone will take at least 17,000 containers off the road each year, saving Tesco 7.3 million road miles and nearly 9,000 tonnes of CO2e.
Note.
- This is Tesco’s first use of refrigerated rail freight.
- It starts from the new Tilbury 2 freight terminal.
- All services seem to be run using bi-mode Class 88 locomotives, running for most of the route using electricity.
Tesco seem to be following the rule, that every little helps when it comes to decarbonisation and climate change.
This Google Map shows Tilbury.
Note.
- The Port of Tilbury is in the West.
- Tilbury Town station on the Tilbury Loop Line is on the North side of the Port.
- There is a cruise ship at the London Cruise Terminal on the river.
- Next to the terminal is the Gravesend Tilbury Ferry. I can remember the car ferries on this route.
- Then there is Tilbury Fort.
- The Tilbury 2 Terminal is in the East.
I took these pictures in 2017.
I suspect it’s a bit different now!
BP Snaps Up 30 Per Cent Stake In Green Biofuels Ltd
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Business Green.
So why would BP take a stake in Green Biofuels?
This paragraph in the Wikipedia entry for BP, outlines the company’s future philosophy.
From 1988 to 2015, BP was responsible for 1.53% of global industrial greenhouse gas emissions. BP has set a goal to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050. BP plans to increase its investments in renewables 10 times and reduce oil production by 40% from current levels by 2030.
BP is doing things like developing wind and solar farms to achieve these aims.
BP also seems to be investing in both blue and green hydrogen.
But possibly, the two hardest products to decarbonise are diesel for heavy transport and aviation fuel.
Looking at Green Biofuels web site, the Wikipedia entry for Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) and other sources, Green Biofuels product; GD+ seems to make a good fist of reducing carbon emissions and pollution, if it replaces diesel.
DB Cargo UK and HVO
DB Cargo UK have a fleet of nearly two hundred large diesel locomotives in the UK.
DB Cargo UK have been experimenting with HVO, as I wrote about in Powered By HVO.
The company has issued a press release on these trials of HVO, from which this is an extract.
DB Cargo UK’s Head of Asset Management and Maintenance Steve Wilkinson said the company was collaborating with one of the UK’s leading suppliers of HVO fuel which already worked with high-profile brands like Caterpillar, John Deere, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz.
“We are very pleased with the initial performance of the HVO fuel which we could use instead of or alongside traditional red diesel. The fact it is compatible with our existing diesel means investment in new storage and fuelling facilities would also be kept to a minimum,” he added.
“On top of that, it performs well at low temperatures, has a longer lifespan and is biodegradable,” he added.
DB Cargo UK currently operates 228 diesel and electric locomotives that transport in the region of 37 million tonnes of freight each year across the UK and into Europe.
It uses approximately 45 million litres of red diesel a year.
Was one of the UK’s leading suppliers of HVO fuel, a company called Green Biofuels?
Note that DB Cargo UK’s spokesman makes these points about the fuel.
- They are very pleased with initial performance.
- It is a straight swap for red diesel and it appears locomotives can run on either. He doesn’t say it but can it run on one fuel contaminated with the other? I suspect it’s a possibility.
- Current storage can be used for HVO.
- I get the impression that swapping from red diesel to HVO wouldn’t be the most challenging of operations.
- It performs well at low temperatures. One train-driver told me, that one of the worse parts of the job, is picking up a train from a depot high in the Pennines on a cold day in the winter. That must apply to locomotives.
- It has a longer lifespan.
- It is biodegradable. I haven’t walked through an engine shed, since I used to bunk them as a child to get engine numbers, but they were filthy places, with oil and diesel all over the floor.
That sounds to me, like DB Cargo UK have decided that HVO is an excellent fuel and for them to swap to HVO, would be no more difficult than to swap between red diesel from BP to red diesel from Shell.
This is an extract from the Business Green article.
Founded in 2013, Green Biofuels is the UK’s largest provider of HVO, having delivered over 55 million litres of HVO products to the UK market over the past two years.
If DB Cargo UK wanted to swap from red diesel to HVO, they would need nearly all of Green Biofuels current production.
So have Green Biofuels run to BP and said can you help us out?
Red Diesel Replacement
This document on the Government web site is entitled Reform Of Red Diesel And Other Rebated Fuels Entitlement.
There is a section, which is entitled Policy Objective, where this is said.
In June 2019, the UK became the first major economy in the world to pass laws guaranteeing an end to its contribution to global warming by 2050. The target will require the UK to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, compared with the previous target of at least an 80% reduction from 1990 levels. The government also launched in 2019 an ambitious new strategy to clean up the air and save lives, given air pollution is one of the biggest continuing threats to public health in the UK.
Red diesel is diesel used mainly for off-road purposes, such as to power bulldozers and cranes used in the construction industry, or to power drills for oil extraction. It accounts for around 15% of all the diesel used in the UK and is responsible for the production of nearly 14 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. Red diesel used in the construction and infrastructure building sectors was also estimated to have caused 7% of nitrogen oxide emissions and 8% of PM10 emissions (a type of particulate matter) in London in 2018.
At Budget 2020, the government therefore announced that it would remove the entitlement to use red diesel and rebated biodiesel from most sectors from April 2022 to help meet its climate change and air quality targets. The tax changes will ensure that most users of red diesel use fuel taxed at the standard rate for diesel from April 2022, like motorists, which more fairly reflects the harmful impact of the emissions they produce. Removing most red diesel entitlements will also help to ensure that the tax system incentivises users of polluting fuels like diesel to improve the energy efficiency of their vehicles and machinery, invest in cleaner alternatives, or just use less fuel.
It doesn’t say, but I have found references to the fact that HVO pays the same tax rate as diesel, despite the evidence, that it appears to be more environmentally friendly.
If I was the Chancellor, I would certainly adjust the tax system, so that red diesel users who changed to HVO and other fuels, paid tax in proportion to the emissions and pollution they caused.
So have BP decided that Green Biofuels is the best interim solution to reduce emissions from diesel fuel and taking a stake, is the best way to get the required access to the product?
Could BP be thinking about replacing red diesel with a better green diesel?
- Red diesel and GD+ could be acceptable to all diesel vehicles and equipment. So farmers for rxample, could run tractors and combines on the same fuel as their truck or Range Rover.
- Businesses, like farmers, who often have tanks for both red diesel and normal diesel, would only need one tank.
- Businesses with a green profile, would surely like it for their vehicles.
- Organic farmers would like it for their tractors.
- The availability of a green diesel would enable red diesel users to change to hydrogen or battery operation, at the optimal time.
I can see Prince Charles handing out green stars all round.
HS2 To Trial New Building Method Which Could Provide Carbon-Free Energy
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
This is the first three paragraphs.
Part of HS2’s Innovation programme, an HS2 building site in London is to become a test bed for a new building method which could ultimately provide carbon-free energy to stations on the new high speed route.
The new approach will be trialled by contractors Mace Dragados at the project’s Euston station site in London and will draw ground heat up through the foundations of a newly-built construction site office.
Developed by Keltbray, the innovative new technology is estimated to harness enough energy to supply 80% of the building’s heating and hot water needs.
It’s an incredibly simple, but extremely powerful idea, that revolutionises heating, cooling and hot water in buildings.
Read the article and then read the brochure on the Keltbray web site.
ITM Power’s 24MW Electrolyser Sale to Yara
The title of this post, is the similar to that of this press release from ITM Power. I just added a few words.
These are the first three paragraphs.
ITM Power (AIM: ITM), the energy storage and clean fuel company, is pleased to provide details of the sale of a 24MW electrolyser to Linde Engineering contained in the Company’s Half Year Report issued yesterday. The electrolyser is to be installed at a site operated by Yara Norge AS (“Yara”) located at Herøya outside Porsgrunn, about 140 km southwest of Oslo. The site covers an area of approximately 1.5 square kilometres and is the largest industrial site in Norway. The Porsgrunn site produces 3 million tons of fertiliser per year.
The hydrogen required for ammonia production is currently produced from SMR. Yara intends to start replacing this grey hydrogen with green hydrogen produced from renewable energy and electrolysis. The 24MW system supplying 10,368 kg/day of hydrogen will account for approximately 5% of the plant’s consumption and serve as a feasibility study for future upscaling. Yara has received a grant of up to NOK 283m (£23.6m,pending ESA approval) from Enova SF, a Government funding body, to invest in green solutions for hydrogen used for industrial purposes in Norway.
The electrolyser equipment is due to be ready for shipment from ITM Power in Q4 2022 with revenue realised in the Company’s 2022/2023 financial year.
These are my thoughts.
The Size Of The Electrolyser
A 24 MW electrolyser, that produces 10,368 Kg of hydrogen/day may sound a large device.
This is an extract from the press release.
In January 2021, the Company received an order for the world’s then largest PEM electrolyser of 24MW from Linde. In October 2021, the Company, with Linde, announced the deployment of a 100MW electrolyser at Shell’s Rhineland refinery, following the start-up of an initial 10MW facility at the site.
It appears that ITM Power have built one before and one four times the size has been ordered.
What Size Of Electrolyser Would Yara Need To Fully Decarbonise Ammonia Production?
According to the press release, a 24 MW electrolyser will produce five percent of the plant’s consumption, which means that a 480 MW electrolyser will be needed, if Yara use an ITM electrolyser to produce all their hydrogen.
Will manufacture of an electrolyser of this size be a problem for ITM Power?
The press release says this about electrolyser production.
ITM Power operates from the world’s largest electrolyser factory in Sheffield with a capacity of 1GW (1,000MW) per annum, with the announced intention to build a second UK Gigafactory in Sheffield with a capacity of 1.5GW expected to be fully operational by the end of 2023. The Group’s first international facility, expected to have a capacity of 2.5GW per annum, is intended to be operational by the end of 2024, bringing total Group capacity to 5GW per annum.
It also says that the company has raised £250m to accelerate expansion.
The Delivery Date
The delivery date of the electrolyser is stated as Q4 2022.
I find this rather quick, which makes me believe that one of the reasons for the success of ITM Power is their production process.
How Much Ammonia Is Produced Worldwide?
This is an extract from this publication from the Royal Society, which is entitled Ammonia: Zero-Carbon Fertiliser, Fuel And Energy Store.
Current global ammonia production is about 176 million tonnes per year and is predominantly achieved through the steam reforming of methane to produce hydrogen to feed into ammonia synthesis via the Haber Bosch process.
Ammonia production is a highly energy intensive process consuming around 1.8% of global energy output each year (steam methane reforming accounts for over 80% of the energy required) and producing as a result about 500 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (about 1.8% of global carbon dioxide emissions)2,3,4. Ammonia synthesis is significantly the largest carbon dioxide emitting chemical industry process. Along with cement, steel and ethylene production, it is one of the ‘big four’ industrial processes where a decarbonisation plan must be developed and implemented to meet the netzero carbon emissions target by 2050.
It looks like Linde and ITM Power have a fairly simple plan to decarbonise world ammonia production. And they have started with one of the easier targets; Yara in the very environmentally-correct Norway.
I estimate that to produce 176 million tonnes of green ammonia will need over 28 GW of electrolyser capacity.
Conclusion
If Linde and ITM Power can persuade the world, that their technology is the way to go, then they’ve got it made.
BHP To Trial Battery Locos On Pilbara Iron Ore Network
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
The article summarised all the battery-electric locomotives ordered to bring the iron ore to the coast by mining companies; BHP, Fortescue, Rio Tinto and Roy Hill.
The article indicates some of the innovative operations that will be tried. This is a sentence from the article.
A key element will be to assess the potential for capturing regenerated braking energy on the loaded downhill runs, and storing it to power empty trains back uphill to the mines.
I would hope that the South Wales Metro, the Buxton branch and the East Kilbride branch will use similar energy conservation techniques.
Are First Group Moving Towards Zero-Carbon?
My post, which was entitled Suppliers Sought For New Bi-Mode Locomotives For TransPennine Express And Great Western Railway, prompted me to ask the question in the title of this post.
This factsheet for First Bus says that all their buses will be zero-carbon by 2035.
This factsheet for First Rail says this about Decarbonising Rail Travel.
FirstGroup’s ambition is to be the partner of choice for low or zero emission transport. We recently became the first UK rail and bus operator to formally commit to setting an ambitious science-based target for reaching net zero emissions by 2050 or earlier.
First Rail leads the sector in decarbonisation, including the introduction of bi-mode diesel and electric powered trains which allow us to make best use of electrified networks. We have signed up to the Government’s challenge to take all diesel-only trains out of service by 2040.
GWR has recently taken delivery of the UK’s first tri-mode train which can use overhead wires, third rail or diesel power. Sustainability is at the heart of the NRCs and both SWR and TPE will develop a decarbonisation policy and roadmap towards net zero emissions in accordance with this goal. New all-electric and bi-mode trains will be introduced by Avanti to replace diesel only trains in the current fleet.
Both these factsheets appear to have been written in 2021.
The zero-carbon status of each of First Group’s rail companies is as follows.
Avanti West Coast
The mainstay of Avanti West Coast are fifty-six Class 390 electric trains.
Twenty Class 221 diesel trains are being replaced by ten new Class 807 electric trains and thirteen new Class 805 bi-mode trains.
Great Western Railway
The mainstay of Great Western Railway are a mixture of ninety-three Class 800 and Class 802 bi-mode trains.
They also have thirty-three Class 387 electric trains working London commuter routes.
There are a large assortment of ninety-four diesel trains of various classes working rural routes and local services in Bristol, Exeter, Oxford and Plymouth. There are a lot of these trains in the UK and I suspect that a nationwide solution will be developed.
There are thirty-five Class 43 diesel locomotives, that power the shortened InterCity 125 trains in the South-West. I wrote about converting these to hydrogen in Will We See Class 43 Power Cars Converted To Hydrogen?
Four Class 57 diesel locomotives that haul the Night Riviera are covered by the request for suppliers, that prompted me to write this post.
South Western Railway
The mainstay of South Western Railway are a mixture of around three hundred electric trains.
There are also ten Class 158 diesel trains and thirty Class 159 diesel trains. There are a lot of these trains in the UK and I suspect that a nationwide solution will be developed.
TransPennine Express
The mainstay of TransPennine Express are nineteen Class 802 bi-mode trains and twelve Class 397 electric trains.
There are also fifty-one Class 185 diesel trains.
Fourteen Class 68 diesel locomotives that haul coaches are covered by the request for suppliers, that prompted me to write this post.
Hull Trains
Hull Trains have a fleet of five Class 802 bi-mode trains.
Lumo
Lumo have a fleet of five Class 803 electric trains.
The service is also sold on the basis of its low-carbon footprint.
Conclusion
First Group would appear top have a fair way to go towards full decarbonisation.
- They have around a hundred-and-thirty Hitachi bi-mode trains. Research is ongoing to replace some diesel engines with batteries.
- They have a lot of diesel trains and locomotives, that are still in front-line service.
- They have the tricky problem of the Class 43 locomotives, which I suspect will result in a nationwide solution.
But at least they have started by requesting proposals to replace the other diesel locomotives.
Aviva To Eject Company Directors If Climate Goals Are Not Met
The title of this post is the same as that of this article in The Sunday Times.
Increasingly, I am seeing company boards taking decisions, that will cut their company’s carbon footprint.
Only yesterday, I wrote Suppliers Sought For New Bi-Mode Locomotives For TransPennine Express And Great Western Railway, which was about First Group’s moves to decarbonise some of their locomotive-hauled trains.
I have also written about BHP, BP, Fortescue, Go-Ahead and Rio-Tinto taking action to decarbonise.
It does seem that some company boards are following Aviva’s guidance, but then it is in the directors own interest.
Many directors of large companies own shares and in a big public company, these are publicly traded.
I would suspect, that if a company board, do the right thing in terms of decarbonisation, that the share price will rise.
So by following the accepted climate science, they are actually helping themselves.
If they don’t believe that, then aggressive shareholders from Norwich will punish them.
The Future Of The Class 68 Locomotives
This post has been brought on by the comments to two posts I have written today.
- Direct Rail Services Disposes Of Heritage Locomotives
- Suppliers Sought For New Bi-Mode Locomotives For TransPennine Express And Great Western Railway
Both Direct Rail Services and TransPennine Express are major users of Class 68 locomotives, with each having a fleet of fourteen locomotives.
In addition, Chiltern Railways has a smaller fleet of six locomotives.
- Direct Rail Services use their locomotives for various passenger and freight duties, including the important one of moving nuclear material around the country.
- TransPennine Express use their locomotives on their passenger services across the North of England.
- Chiltern Railways use their locomotives on their passenger services between London and Birmingham and sometimes Oxford.
The design was a bespoke one by Stadler for Direct Rail Services and the first one entered service in 2014.
The picture shows one of TransPennine’s Class 68 locomotives at Scarborough. As the picture shows, they are a smart and purposeful-looking locomotive, that wouldn’t look out of place in the right livery on the front of the Royal Train.
It has some good features.
- It is a 100 mph locomotive.
- It seems to be well-liked by operators.
- It can haul both passenger and freight trains.
- It can act as a Thunderbird or rescue locomotive.
But they have three problems; emissions, noise and diesel.
This is from Wikipedia.
The locomotive’s propulsion system is compliant with Stage III A of the European emission standards, but not the more stringent Stage III B requirements.
But noise is a another problem and this has caused council action in Scarborough.
More important than emissions or noise, is the fact, that the locomotive is diesel-powered, so the fleet will probably have to be retired from the railway, at a time, when there is still useful life left in the locomotives.
The Class 68 locomotive is a member of the Stadler Eurolight family, of which there are three versions.
All follow similar design principles, differing mainly in dimensions, with Spain, Taiwan and the UK ordering upwards of twenty-thirty locomotives.
The UKLight branch of the family has two other members.
The Class 88 locomotive is an electro-diesel version of the Class 68 locomotive and the development of the design is described in this extract from the Class 88 locomotive’s Wikipedia entry.
Amid the fulfillment of DRS’ order for the Class 68, Stadler’s team proposed the development of a dual-mode locomotive that could be alternatively powered by an onboard diesel engine or via electricity supplied from overhead lines (OHLE). Having been impressed by the concept, DRS opted to place an order for ten Class 88s during September 2013. Having been developed alongside the Class 68, considerable similarities are shared between the two locomotives, amounting to roughly 70 percent of all components being shared.
According to Wikipedia, the type had a smooth entry into service.
The Class 93 locomotive will be the next development of the UKLight branch of the family, when it is delivered in 2023.
It will be a tri-mode locomotive, that will be capable of being powered by 25 KVAC overhead electrification, an onboard diesel engine and batteries.
It will be a 110 mph locomotive.
It can haul both passenger and freight trains.
Rail Operations Group have ordered 30 locomotives.
This is the first paragraph of the section in Wikipedia called Specification.
The Class 93 locomotive has been developed to satisfy a requirement for a fast freight locomotive that uses electric power while under the wires, but is also capable of self-powered operations. Accordingly, it is capable of running on diesel engines, from overhead wires, or from its onboard batteries. These batteries, which occupy the space used for the braking resistors in the Class 88, are charged via the onboard transformer or regenerative braking; when the batteries are fully charged, the locomotive only has its friction brakes available. The diesel engine is a six-cylinder Caterpillar C32 turbocharged power unit, rated at 900 kW, conforming with the EU97/68 stage V emission standard. The batteries units are made of Lithium Titanate Oxide and use a liquid cooling solution, enabling rapid charge and discharge.
It is a truly agnostic locomotive, that can take its power from anywhere.
The last paragraph of the specification compares the locomotive to the Class 66 locomotive.
In comparison with the Class 66, the Class 93 can outperform it in various metrics. In addition to a higher top speed, the locomotive possesses greater acceleration and far lower operating costs, consuming only a third of the fuel of a Class 66 along with lower track access charges due to its lower weight. ROG has postulated that it presents a superior business case, particularly for intermodal rail freight operations, while also being better suited for mixed-traffic operations as well. Each locomotive has a reported rough cost of £4 million.
It is no ordinary locomotive and it will change rail freight operations in the UK.
I have a feeling that the Class 93 locomotive could be a lower-carbon replacement for the Class 68 locomotive.
But I also believe that what Stadler have learned in the development of the Class 93 locomotive can be applied to the Class 68 locomotive to convert them into zero-carbon locomotives.
It may be just a matter of throwing out the diesel engine and the related gubbins and replacing them with a large battery. This process seems to have worked with Wabtec’s conversion of diesel locomotives to FLXdrive battery-electric locomotives.
Suppliers Sought For New Bi-Mode Locomotives For TransPennine Express And Great Western Railway
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Advent.
These three paragraphs give a summary of the proposed fleet of locomotives required by First Group for their two operations.
TransPennine Express is looking for expressions of interest from suppliers for a fleet of at least 15 bi-mode locomotives for use on with its Mk5 carriages.
The provision released by First Group is for up to 30 bi-mode locomotives, with an additional 5 for use on Great Western Railway’s Sleeper Service.
The operators say that the new locomotives must have the capability to be powered by overhead wires as well as being able to operate with an alternate traction mode, IE Diesel or Battery, where routes are not yet electrified or for use as a contingency.
I have also read the detailed proposal, which can be downloaded from this page of the First Group web site.
- The locomotives must be capable of hauling a train at 100 mph.
- First Group are putting a high emphasis on environmental impact of the locomotives.
- The locomotives must be compatible with the latest emission regulations.
- The locomotives must be low-noise.
- The locomotives must be capable of hauling seven coaches, including a driving van trailer.
Nothing in the request for proposals would appear to be too challenging.
I have some thoughts.
The Number Of Locomotives For TransPennine Express
Currently, TransPennine Express has a fleet of fourteen Class 68 locomotives and enough coaches and driving van trailers to create thirteen rakes of Mark 5A coaches.
So why do TransPennine Express talk of up to thirty locomotives?
- Fifteen locomotives would handle the current services, so thirty could cover new services or more services on the current locomotive-hauled routes.
- Manchester Airport and Cleethorpes and Manchester Piccadilly and Hull are run by Class 185 diesel trains, which will need replacing at some future time.
- First Group probably know the costs of running Class 802 trains and locomotives with rakes of coaches better than anyone , so are they thinking about swapping some Class 802 trains for locomotives with rakes of coaches?
The last point would be one for the accountants.
But I am led to the conclusion, that TransPennine Express could be expanding and also decarbonising the long routes still operated by Class 185 trains.
The Number Of Locomotives For Great Western Railway
Currently, Great Western Railway has a fleet of four Class 57 locomotives to haul the Night Riviera.
Five replacement locomotives would probably be enough.
Could A Battery-Electric Locomotive Handle The TransPennine Express Requirement?
Currently, there are gaps in the electrification of the TransPennine network.
- Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge – 7.7 miles – Electrification in progress
- Stalybridge and Huddersfield – 18 miles
- Huddersfield and Dewsbury – 8 miles – Electrification in progress
- Dewsbury and Leeds – 9.1 miles
- Leeds and York – 25.6 – Electrification in progress
- Northallerton and Redcar – 28.8 miles
- Manchester Piccadilly and Stalybridge – 7.5 miles
- Leeds and Hull – 51.8 miles
- Doncaster and Cleethorpes – 72.1 miles
- Scarborough and York – 42 miles
- Doncaster and Sheffield – 18.7 miles
- Sheffield and Stockport – 36.8 miles – Rumoured to be electrified
Note.
- Many gaps are quite small.
- The longest gaps are on easy routes.
- Sheffield will be electrified for the Midland Main Line.
- A length of electrification at Scunthorpe could ease Doncaster and Cleethorpes.
I feel that a battery-electric locomotive with a range of a hundred miles hauling seven coaches, would be able to handle all the TransPennine routes.
If the train could run the routes with an electricity consumption of 4 kWh per vehicle-mile, seven coaches would need 4 * 8 * 100 = 3.2 MWh of battery storage.
Note.
- A 3.2 MWh battery would weigh around 3.2 tonnes, which would be less than the diesel engine in a Class 68 locomotive.
- Regenerative braking to batteries could be used to improve range.
- In How Much Power Is Needed To Run A Train At 125 Or 100 mph?, I calculated that an InterCity 125 needs 1.81 kWh per vehicle mile to maintain 100 mph.
I am fairly certain, that a well-designed efficient battery-electric locomotive would be able to handle all of the routes for TransPennine Express.
Could A Battery-Electric Locomotive Handle The Night Riviera?
I have just looked up the Southbound Night Riviera on Real Time Trains.
- It leaves Paddington at 23:50.
- It is typically eight coaches and a Class 57 locomotive.
- The train is planned to run at 75 mph.
- The first 53 miles between Paddington and Newbury are electrified.
- There is a stop of one hour and 39 minutes at Exeter.
- Newbury and Exeter is 120.4 miles
- Exeter and Penzance is 130.8 miles
The Northbound Night Riviera only has a five minute stop at Exeter and two minutes stops at Totnes, Newton Abbott and Taunton.
A battery-electric locomotive would need a range of 140 miles hauling eight coaches.
- Some stops like Plymouth may need to be lengthened by a few minutes to charge the batteries.
- Extra stops of perhaps five minutes could be added to top-up the batteries.
- The train would be limited to 75 mph, which would improve efficiency.
- It might even be prudent to electrify the uphill track of some of the steeper parts of the route.
But think of the marketing advantages of a zero-carbon sleeper train!
Conclusion
When I saw First Group’s proposals, I thought that they were over ambitious.
But after doing a few simple calculations, I think they can decarbonise some, but not all of the TransPennine Express services and the Night Riviera.
What is Mineral Carbonation And How Could It Transform The Building Industry?
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on AZO CleanTech.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Natural carbonates have been prime building materials for centuries, but synthetic carbonates are a modern, robust building material, created via mineral carbonation.
The article is a must-read introduction to this fascinating Australian technology, which could be very important in combating climate change.
There is also an explanatory video, which is worth a watch.
The Anonymous Widower 