Centrica Secures Investment Stake In Gasrec Helping Boost UK Bio-LNG Ambitions
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Centrica.
This is the sub-heading.
Centrica has secured a minority stake in Gasrec, the UK’s largest dual provider of bio-LNG (bio-Liquified Natural Gas) and bio-CNG (bio-Compressed Natural Gas) to the road transport sector,
These first two paragraphs give more details.
Gasrec says the investment will drive the next phase of its infrastructure ambitions, with plans to open a UK wide network of open-access refuelling stations supplying renewable bio-LNG for the decarbonisation of heavy goods vehicles.
Centrica is taking a 16% stake and becomes one of three major shareholders in Gasrec, alongside global integrated energy company bp and private family office 44 North.
I have some thoughts.
Does Running A Truck On bio-LNG or bio-CNG. Reduce Carbon Emissions?
This paragraph from the press release, gives the thoughts of Chris O’Shea, who is Group Chief Executive, Centrica.
Chris O’Shea, Group Chief Executive, Centrica plc, said: “Demand for bio-LNG for transport is growing fast as more HGV operators make the switch – drawn by a clean, ready-to-use fuel which slashes CO2 emissions by up to 85 per cent in comparison to diesel*. This investment in Gasrec enhances our collaboration with the leading company in the sector, and puts us in a strong position to energise a vital sector of the industry on its journey to net zero.”
As Centrica is a public company, with shareholders, who would take a dim view of Mr. O’Shea telling porkies, I suspect we can assume that the following is true.
Drawn by a clean, ready-to-use fuel which slashes CO2 emissions by up to 85 per cent in comparison to diesel.
The asterisk in the full quote, refers to this note.
Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, Innovate UK and Office for Low Emission Vehicles, Low Emission Freight & Logistics Trial (LEFT), Key Findings, November 2020. Using specific feedstocks CO2 reductions of 200% are achievable.
Centrica could be being conservative with their claims.
Decarbonising Buses, Locomotives And Trucks
Despite what Elon Musk, would have us believe, electric trucks will not dominate the future of freight transport.
An electric truck would be the vehicle equivalent of asking Usain Bolt to run a hundred metres with a large refrigerator on his back.
Trucks are going to need a fuel without a weight penalty and with a long range.
I asked Google for information about Cummins diesel, natural gas and hydrogen engines and received this AI Overview.
Cummins offers engines powered by diesel, natural gas, and hydrogen. While diesel engines are well-established, Cummins is also developing both natural gas and hydrogen engines, particularly focusing on hydrogen as a pathway to zero-carbon solutions for various applications. Cummins utilizes a fuel-agnostic platform, meaning a common base engine can be adapted for different fuel types, including diesel, natural gas, and hydrogen.
Recently, GB Railfreight purchased thirty Class 99 locomotives from Stadler.
- They can use electrification, where it exists.
- Where electrification doesn’t exist, they can use an onboard Cummins diesel engine, which is built in Darlington.
- In electric-mode, they have 6.2 MW of power, and are the most powerful locomotives ever to run on UK railways.
- In diesel-mode, they have 1.8 MW of power, which is more than enough to haul a large container train in and out of Felixstowe.
I had thought that at some future date, Cummins would convert these locomotives to electro-hydrogen.
But now that Gasrec is providing bio-LNG and bio-CNG, GB Railfreight, have the option of converting both hydrogen and biomethane.
Similar logic can be applied to Wrightbus’s Streetdeck Ultroliner, one version of which is fitted with a Cummins engine, that can be converted to electric, hydrogen or natural gas, which of course includes biomethane. This page on the Wrightbus web site describes the bus.
Wrightbus are also going back into coach manufacture, as I wrote about in Wrightbus Goes Back To The Future As It Relaunches The Contour Coach. As with the Streetdeck Ultroliner, Cummins seem to be providing one of the power units.
It seems to me, that the zero- and low-carbon revolution in transport will generate a need for the availability of biomethane, hydrogen and natural gas fuel for transport all over the country.
Gasrec with around twenty biomethane fuelling points around the country, seem well-placed to supply the biomethane in bio-LNG or bio-CNG form.
Could Gasrec Deliver Hydrogen?
Various bus companies in the UK, have had difficulty getting the fuel for their hydrogen buses.
I believe that delivering hydrogen would be very similar to delivering LNG and if Gasrec can deliver LNG successfully and safely, they probably have the technology to do the same for hydrogen.
Centrica Seem To Be Assembling An Interesting Consortium
These are some deals, that I have reported on this blog, that involve Centrica.
- Centrica, along with Hyundai, Kia, Siemens and others have backed Hull-based hydrogen start-up; HiiROC, who can produce affordable hydrogen from any hydrocarbon gas including natural gas, where it is needed.
- Centrica have invested in Sizewell C. Will they be using their share of the electricity to make affordable pink hydrogen using HiiROC?
- In Centrica And Ryze Agree To Develop Hydrogen Pathway, I talked about how Centrica and Ryse were aiming to bring hydrogen to the masses.
- In Recurrent Energy’s Middle Road Project Sold To Centrica, I talked about a Centrica investment in solar power.
- In Aberdeen’s Exceed Secures Centrica Rough Contract, I talked about how Centrica were redeveloping the Rough gas storage site for hydrogen.
- In Lhyfe And Centrica To Develop Offshore Renewable Green Hydrogen In The UK, I talked about developing offshore hydrogen.
- In Centrica Announces Hydrogen Ready Combined Heat And Power Partnership With 2G, the title says it all.
- In Centrica Signs UK Biomethane Agreement With Yorkshire Water And SGN Commercial Services, Centrica appear to be sourcing biomethane from Yorkshire Water.
- In Centrica Invests In Renewable Energy Storage Capabilities To Boost UK’s Energy Security And Accelerate Transition To Net Zero, I talk about Centrica, Goldman Sachs and others, investment in liquid-air energy storage company; Highview Power.
- In British Gas Owner Mulls Mini-Nuke Challenge To Rolls-Royce, I talk about rumours that Centrica might invest in SMRs.
Note.
- A lot of these deals are are about hydrogen production.
- Some of these deals are about biomethane production.
- None of these deals talk about getting hydrogen and biomethane to customers.
It appears to me, that Gasrec have a model that works to get hydrogen, methane and biomethane from production and storage to the end customers.
Developing A Rural Hydrogen Network
In Developing A Rural Hydrogen Network, I talked about supplying all those millions of off-gas grid properties with hydrogen for heating, agricultural and industrial purposes, in the countryside of the UK.
Gasrec have the technology to decarbonise the countryside.
Conclusion
Gasrec would appear to be a very useful partner for Centrica.
Elon Musk’s Starlink Lined Up To Solve Train Wi-Fi Rage
The title of this post, is the same as that, as this article on the Telegraph.
This is the sub-heading.
Using the billionaire’s network of satellites could help rail passengers make reliable phone calls
These two paragraphs give more details.
Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites are being looked at as a potential solution to solving the issue of patchy Wi-Fi on Britain’s trains.
Train operators in England and Wales are examining whether the satellite-based internet provider could be used to boost connectivity after a six-month trial of the technology began in Scotland last month.
I don’t see any obvious technical reason, why not the technology wouldn’t work.
This Wikipedia entry describes the 2024 Talerddig Train Collision, when two trains collided on the Cambrian Line.
Better communications might have helped in avoiding or sorting out the incident.
Thoughts On The Airbus A 390
Ask Google what she knows about the Airbus A 390 and you get this AI Summary.
The Airbus A390 is a three-deck, six-engine aircraft that can carry around 1,000 passengers. It’s based on the A380, but with a third deck and extra engines. The A390 was custom-built for Qantas to fly between Melbourne and New York.
Google got their summary from this page on steemit.
Search for images of the Airbus A 390 and you get several images of this unusual three-deck aircraft, that looks like a widened Airbus A 380 with six engines.
These are some of my thoughts.
Wikipedia Entries
There is no Wikipedia entry for the Airbus A 390.
But.
- There is a Wikipedia entry for the Airbus A 380.
- There is also a Wikipedia entry for the six unusual Airbus Beluga XLs, which are used to transport two pairs of Airbus A 350 wings between factories.
The A 390 is supposedly based on the A 380 and the Beluga XL appears to have a fuselage that is a bit like the Airbus A 390.
Will The Airbus A 390 Fly?
After reading the two Wikipedia entries, I am fairly sure that an Airbus A 390 airliner, as shown in the pictures would be able to fly.
Although, I must say, that I was surprised, at seeing an Airbus Beluga XL on video. This is a Beluga XL landing at Heathrow.
So I think we can say, that Airbus know more than a bit about the aerodynamics of three-deck fuselages.
The Antonov An-225 Mriya
This aircraft designed and built in the Soviet Union , does have a Wikipedia entry.
These three paragraphs from the start of the entry, give some details of this unusual and very large aircraft.
The Antonov An-225 Mriya (Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-225 Мрія, lit. ’dream’ or ‘inspiration’) was a strategic airlift cargo aircraft designed and produced by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Soviet Union.
It was originally developed during the 1980s as an enlarged derivative of the Antonov An-124 airlifter for transporting Buran spacecraft. On 21 December 1988, the An-225 performed its maiden flight; only one aircraft was ever completed, although a second airframe with a slightly different configuration was partially built. After a brief period of use in the Soviet space programme, the aircraft was mothballed during the early 1990s. Towards the turn of the century, it was decided to refurbish the An-225 and reintroduce it for commercial operations, carrying oversized payloads for the operator Antonov Airlines. Multiple announcements were made regarding the potential completion of the second airframe, though its construction largely remained on hold due to a lack of funding. By 2009, it had reportedly been brought up to 60–70% completion.
With a maximum takeoff weight of 640 tonnes (705 short tons), the An-225 held several records, including heaviest aircraft ever built and largest wingspan of any operational aircraft. It was commonly used to transport objects once thought impossible to move by air, such as 130-ton generators, wind turbine blades, and diesel locomotives.
This further paragraph described the destruction of the aircraft.
The only completed An-225 was destroyed in the Battle of Antonov Airport in 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced plans to complete the second An-225 to replace the destroyed aircraft.
I feel that the Mriya is significant for the Airbus A 390 for three reasons.
- Mriya was a six-engine heavy-lift cargo aircraft developed from a certified four-engine transport.
- Mriya was starting to make a name for being able to move over-sized cargo around the world.
- Given the parlous state of parts of the world and the ambitions of some of its so-called leaders, I believe, as I suspect others do, that a heavy-lift cargo aircraft is needed for disaster relief.
So are Airbus looking at the possibilities of converting some unwanted A 380 airliners into the heavy-lift aircraft, that they believe the world needs?
- They may even want some for their own purposes.
- Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk may need a heavy-lift aircraft for their space programs.
Converting some unwanted Airbus A 380s into heavy-lift cargo aircraft could be a more affordable route, than designing and building new aircraft from scratch.
Ryanair Flies Into Sahara on Sea (And Africa’s Oldest Conflict)
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Chieftains fighting for a strip of land claimed by Morocco are threatening to step up attacks as the tourist industry grows
These are the first three paragraphs.
Towards the end of the flight on Ryanair’s new route to Dakhla a vast expanse of apparently pristine desert coastline unfurls below.
But this land is nowhere near as tranquil as it looks from above. Instead the Irish airline’s choice of destination has flown the company into the heart of Africa’s longest-running conflict.
These direct flights from Madrid and Lanzarote take its planes to the coastal town in Western Sahara, a tract of desert the size of Britain that tribal chieftains and three countries have struggled to control through the centuries.
This is a Google Map showing the location of Western Sahara with respect to the Canary Islands.
Note.
- The islands off the recognisable coast of North West Africa are the Canary Islands.
- Lanzarote is the Southermostof the two North-Eastern islands.
- Western Sahara is to the South-East of the Canary Islands.
- Dakhla is on the Africa coast at the Southern edge of the map.
The map will be enlarged if you click on it.
I have my thoughts on this article.
Western Sahara And Coeliac Disease
I have a feeling that this area has one of the highest levels of coeliac disease in the world.
- It all started some years ago, when they had a terrible famine, so the US donated a lot of wheat to alleviate the famine.
- But the people of Western Sahara don’t grow wheat and their bodily systems can’t cope with gluten.
- This gave the people a lot of coeliac disease, which can be passed on genetically.
A similar process went on during the slave trade, where the slavers fed their captives on bread made from wheat and water. Consequently, many of the slaves suffered from various problems and that could be why many died on the crossing. These days there is coeliac genes among the Caribbean and American black population that has been passed down through the generations.
After their first actions, it only looks like Trummkopf and his sidekick are going to make matters worse, after their destruction of US Aid.
DOE Funds Research Into Long-Duration Energy Storage Using Lead-Acid Batteries
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Best Magazine.
This is the sub-heading
US federal cash is on its way to fund research into long-duration energy storage using lead-acid batteries.
These two paragraphs give more details.
A consortium backed by industry bodies Battery Council International and the Consortium for Battery Innovation, will conduct pre-competitive research aimed at improving lead battery performance. Companies participating in the consortium include Advanced Battery Concepts, C&D/Trojan, Clarios, Crown Battery, East Penn Manufacturing, EnerSys, Gridtential and Stryten Energy. The collaborating national laboratories are Argonne, Oak Ridge and Pacific Northwest (PNNL).
The $5 million award from the US Department of Energy, announced on 27 September, will support work to develop lead batteries capable of 10+ hours of storage with a pathway to $0.05/kWh levelised cost of storage by 2030.
Note.
- The companies involved have names that indicate they could be battery makers.
- The collaborating national laboratories are world-class Premier League players.
- Over the nearly fifty years, that I drove cars, lead-acid batteries improved a lot and there might be more to come.
- The last paragraph is ambitious, unless they know more than I do about lead-acid batteries. Which is likely!
This is also said in one of Highview Power’s news items.
Highview Power, the global leader in long-duration energy storage solutions, is pleased to announce that it has developed a modular cryogenic energy storage system, the CRYOBattery, that is scalable up to multiple gigawatts of energy storage and can be located anywhere. This technology reaches a new benchmark for a levelized cost of storage (LCOS) of $140/MWh for a 10-hour, 200 MW/2 GWh system. Highview Power’s cryogenic energy storage system is equivalent in performance to, and could potentially replace, a fossil fuel power station. Highview Power’s systems can enable renewable energy baseload power at large scale, while also supporting electricity and distribution systems and providing energy security.
The battery researchers are saying $0.05/kWh levelised cost of storage by 2030 and Highview Power are saying $0.14/kWh for the same parameter.
Could Elon Musk’s Relationship With Donald Trump Be The Fly In The Ointment?
Would Musk want research to go on, that might weaken the use of his lithium-ion batteries for stationary applications?
Freightliner Partners With Zero To Decarbonise Critical Transport Operations
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from Freightliner.
This is the sub-heading.
Today, Freightliner and Zero, a breakthrough energy company that develops and manufactures whole-blend synthetic, non-biological fuels, announced a partnership to achieve a fossil-free locomotive operation by 2040 and overall Net Zero by 2050, representing a major evolution for one of the world’s oldest, safest and most reliable forms of freight transport. To successfully meet these ambitious emissions targets, Freightliner is exploring alternatives to diesel, such as Zero’s carbon-neutral synthetic diesel, which will eliminate fossil-carbon emissions and improve air quality and environmental wellbeing.
These are my thoughts.
Freightliner
Freightliner is a rail-freight company, that you see regularly hauling freight trains all over the UK.
The picture shows two of their Class 90 electric locomotives in their latest livery.
These posts talk about the company and lower or zero carbon operation.
- Clean Air Power Adds Hydrogen To Class 66 Fuel Mix
- Freightliner Continue Trials On New Low Carbon Fuel
- Freightliner Secures Government Funding For Dual-Fuel Project
- The Ultimate Bi-Mode
The current post fits that pattern.
Zero Petroleum
Zero Petroleum is one of those companies that gives Elon Musk nightmares.
But when you have backers like Babcock, Boeing, Intertek, Rolls-Royce and the Royal Air Force, you must be doing something right.
The Wikipedia entry for the company has this first paragraph.
Zero is a manufacturer of non-biological carbon-neutral synthetic fuel (also known as e-fuel) co-founded by former Formula One engineer Paddy Lowe. Its product has been developed as an alternative to fossil-based fuels and a more scalable sustainable alternative to waste and bio-fuels. The Royal Air Force used its fuel in November 2021 to achieve a World Record first flight powered by synthetic fuel. In July 2022, Zero entered a new partnership with the Royal Air Force to move towards mass production of sustainable aviation fuel.
The company is often known as just Zero.
These two and a half paragraphs from the Wikipedia entry describe the technology.
Zero uses Direct FT (a proprietary and specialised version of Fischer-Tropsch) to directly manufacture target fuels (gasoline, kerosene and diesel) at high yield and with no need for refinery upgrading.
When manufactured using renewable energy, synthetic fuel can be used as a carbon neutral or carbon negative direct drop-in replacement for fossil fuels, particularly for operations that require high energy densities – such as air travel, shipping and farming – and to ensure the continued use of legacy vehicles. It can also be used as a raw material to produce various forms of plastic.
It is manufactured using a process known as petrosynthesis, in which carbon dioxide and hydrogen are combined to create hydrocarbons. The process involves direct air capture of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and the electrolysis of water to obtain hydrogen.
The Fischer-Tropsch process, despite its association in the past with dodgy regimes, seems to be at the heart of things, as it is with Velocys.
I describe the Velocys process and its link to Fischer-Tropsch in Grant Shapps Announcement On Friday.
Surely, the carbon-neutral fuel produced by Zero, are the ideal stop-gap fuel until true full zero-carbon fuels are available.
But Zero’s fuels will always be available for heritage and legacy trains, planes and automobiles and for applications, where older technology must be used.
As an example of older technology still being used on UK’s railways, Network Rail operate, the New Measurement Train to check all tracks in Great Britain.
The train may have been manufactured in the 1970s, but it has modern engines and is the ideal train to carry the wide variety of sophisticated equipment to ensure the safety of Britain’s railways.
Synthetic diesel like that produced by Zero could keep the New Measurement Train running for some years yet.
Freightliner Have Made A Pragmatic Decision
I believe that Freightliner have made a pragmatic decision, that allows them to go carbon neutral without without taking risks or spending millions on new equipment, that is not fully-developed.
As new zero-carbon technology is developed, like say hydrogen-electric hybrid locomotives, these may take over certain tasks, which will reduce some of the need for synthetic diesel.
But synthetic diesel from Zero will always be there as a fuel of last resort.
Nikola Highlights Its Integrated Hydrogen Solution And Introduces New Hydrogen Energy Brand “HYLA”
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Nikola Motor.
This is the first paragraph.
Nikola Corporation, a global leader in zero-emission transportation and energy supply and infrastructure solutions, announced at a special event today that it has created a new global brand, HYLA, to encompass the company’s energy products for producing, distributing and dispensing hydrogen to fuel its zero-emissions trucks. More than 300 fleet, government, supplier, energy and media representatives were on site for the announcement at Nikola’s U.S. headquarters in Phoenix, which highlighted the progress made by Nikola’s energy and truck businesses.
The CEO is also quoted as saying.
Nikola is the only company that is successfully integrating a revolutionary new product, the hydrogen fuel cell truck, and the full hydrogen energy infrastructure supply chain under one roof
I suspect that other companies are or will be making similar claims, about similar products.
JCB are certainly showing everything you need for hydrogen-powered construction and agricultural equipment on their web site, as I pointed out in JCB: Building A Hydrogen Future.
When I see anything about Nikola Motor, I feel Elon Musk made a big mistake.
He chose well with the name Tesla, but shouldn’t he have registered Nikola and all its derivatives.
Second Life Energy Storage Firm Smartville Inc On Modules vs Packs, Ramp-Up Plans And Tesla’s Approach
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Energy Storage News.
I like the concept of taking the life-expired batteries out of electric vehicles and giving them a second life as grid batteries.
Smartville seem to have taken this simple and useful idea to a new level.
These are my thoughts.
The Internet Of Batteries
By the use of clever software, it appears, that they can control different types of battery packs, in a manner that could be called the Internet of Batteries.
They can also measure the state and performance and calculate the replacement date of each battery pack.
The Mother Of All Batteries
The implementation of this concept in their MOAB product allows the controlling software to manage a number of battery packs precisely to deliver a battery of the precise number of MWh, that the customer ordered.
- Provided an interface driver can be written, any type and make of battery pack can be incorporated.
- Nearly new, salvaged or elderly battery packs cab be used.
- The operating system can predict, when a battery pack must be replaced.
- Smartville are planning to install a 4MWh grid battery in central California that will be co-located with an existing power plant.
In some ways, the controlling software, is like the Chief Coach of a tug-of-war team, of mixed sexes, weights and strengths, that by asking for the right level of power from each member, gets the required performance.
Working With Tesla
The article talks about why, they don’t work with Tesla, where this is said.
Our experience in the US is that Tesla does not seem to be interested in working with outside partners. They’ve also publicly stated that they’re not focused on battery repurposing, not in their current business model at least, which I think might change over time. But that’s their public stance at the moment. We’re absolutely open to working directly with them but the opportunity hasn’t presented itself.
Does this indicate, that Tesla and Elon Musk are not the easiest people to deal with?
Conclusion
I shall be following Smartville.
Elon Musk Goes Underground With High-Speed Trains
The title of this post is the same as that of an article in the Business section of last Friday’s Times.
This is the first paragraph.
Futuristic electric trains will soon be whizzing under the streets of Chicago at up to 150 mph after Elon Musk’s tunnelling company was chosen by the city to build a new high-speed commuter link.
Currently, the Blue Line train takes about forty-five minutes for the eighteen miles at a cost of five dollars.
Heathrow Airport is eighteen miles from the City of London and Crossrail will do the trip for thirty-three minutes when it opens, next year for a cost of under a tenner.
So what is Musk proposing?
- A journey time of twelve minutes.
- Passengers will ride in skates, which will carry up to sixteen people on concrete tracks.
- Skates will run at a frequency of 120 per hour for 20 hours a day.
- The fare would be twenty-five dollars.
- The system would cost about a billion dollars.
It is a technically ambitious proposal.
There’s more in this section called Chicago in the Wikipedia entry of The Boring Company.
A competition to build a high-speed link from downtown Chicago to the soon-to-be-expanded O’Hare Airport had been reduced to just two bidders by March 2018. The Boring Company was selected in June 2018 and will now negotiate a contract to be presented to the Chicago City Council. Construction is to be entirely financed by The Boring Company, which is subsequently to maintain and operate the link. The system will transport passengers in automated electric cars carrying 16 passengers (and their luggage) through two parallel tunnels running under existing public way alignments, traveling from block 37 to the airport in 12 minutes, at speeds reaching 125 to 150 miles per hour (200 to 240 km/h), with pods departing as often as every 30 seconds
It states it is two parallel tunnels!
Comparison With London’s Crossrail
Crossrail will effectively do the same job in London and a comparison between the two systems may produce some interesting conclusions.
Capacity
Musk’s system will have an hourly capacity of 1920 passengers per hour, based on 120 skates each carrying sixteen people.
Crossrail are talking of six trains per hour, each with a capacity of 1,500 people or 9000 passengers per hour.
I think that Crossrail will need to increase capacity, as Heathrow expands and longer trains and higher frequencies are possible.
But if Musk’s system is a runaway success, can it be expanded easily.
Journey Time
Musk’s system has a journey time of 12 minutes, as against Crossrail’s of 33 minutes
But Crossrail will stop up to ten times!
Intriguingly, the twelve minute is not the headline speed of 125 to 150 mph, but a slower 90 mph.
Routes
Little has been said of the route for Musk’s system, except that it goes between Downtown and O’Hare Airport.
Heathrow to the City of London, also goes direct to London’s major shopping area and the new business area of Canary Wharf.
It is also integrated with London’s existing Underground, Overground and rail lines at several places.
Does Musk’s system have a route structure, that won’t appeal to a lot of possible users?
Musk’s Thinking
This is an extract from the Future Goals section of the Wikipedia entry for The Boring Company.
According to Tesla, Inc. and SpaceX board member Steve Jurvetson, tunnels specifically built for electric vehicles have reduced size and complexity, and thus decreased cost. “The insight I think that’s so powerful is that if you only envision electric vehicles in your tunnels you don’t need to do the air handling for all carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, you know, basically pollutants for exhaust. You could have scrubbers and a variety of simpler things that make everything collapse to a smaller tunnel size, which dramatically lowers the cost … The whole concept of what you do with tunnels changes.
The philosophy is not unlike that of Crossrail.
- I believe that Crossrail has been designed holistically, using the best tunnel and train technology.
- The tunnel power supply is a simple end-to-end rail.
- The Class 345 trains have batteries to make best use of electricity and provide emergency power.
- The batteries will handle regenerative braking, thus minimising heat-producing electric currents in the tunnel.
- Platform-edge doors and aerodynamic trains reduce mechanical energy losses.
- The electric trains do not emit anything into the tunnel, except perhaps a small amount of hot air.
I suspect that Crossrail’s tunnel section will be a very energy-efficient railway.
Conclusion
Summing up both systems we get.
Musk’s system is.
- A billion dollar cost.
- Twelve minute journey time.
- A vehicle every thirty seconds.
- Only for the few, who want to go from O’Hare to Downtown, who can pay a premium fare.
- Limited capacity.
A Crossrail-like solution would be.
- Perhaps a ten billion dollar cost.
- Twenty minute journey time.
- A train every few minutes.
- For everyone, who wants to travel from O’Hare to most places in Chicago with possibly a change, at a normal fare.
- Expandable capacity.
Musk’s system will appeal to the rich and those who like novelty, but I don’t think it is a long-term solution and just like London, Chicago will eventually have a modern railway linking it to the wider Chicago area.
Where Musk is right, is that he believes that tunnelling methods can be improved and become more affordable.
This will mean that more audacious railway schemes will be built.
The Anonymous Widower 