£120,000 project to eliminate freight train carbon emissions

Press/Media: Expert Comment

Description

Paul Allen and Messaoud Mehafdi are part of a new project, Digital Displacement for Non-Passenger Rail, one of six winning projects in a competition launched to explore novel solutions to the problem of eradicating diesel-only trains by 2040. 

Prof. Allen comments: 

“Decarbonising freight trains will be very challenging... But with an electronically-controlled, mechatronic digital displacement pump, you can effectively switch idle cylinders on and off.

“But freight is very challenging to decarbonise because you need a lot of power. At the moment, only diesel engines and overhead electrification can provide those levels of power within the confines of our Victorian infrastructure... So if you don’t have overhead lines, it is difficult to fully decarbonise freight locos.”

“You could potentially replace a traction package with hydraulic motors, using accumulators to store hydraulic oil under pressure, harvesting this energy under braking, then using it to drive the resultant diesel or electric hybrid vehicle forward. It is an energy storage device using hydraulic engineering,” 

Period12 Jun 2019

Media coverage

2

Media coverage

  • Title£120,000 project to eliminate freight train carbon emissions
    Degree of recognitionInternational
    Media name/outletAlphaGalileo
    Media typeWeb
    Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
    Date12/06/19
    DescriptionIn response to a Government call for the use of diesel-only trains to be eradicated by 2040, the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) set up a Decarbonisation Task Force and launched a competition, with a total prize pot of £2 million to be distributed among research teams exploring novel solutions to the problem.

    The project, with an overall grant of £120k, will examine the possibilities provided by digital displacement technology developed by Artemis as a more efficient alternative to conventional hydraulic pumps for providing traction and auxiliary power for freight locomotives, shunters and on-track plant. Use of this technology will help facilitate the development of environmentally-beneficial hybrid locomotives.

    Talks will be held with key industry figures and a business case prepared for adoption of the digital displacement technology by freight train operators.
    URLhttps://www.alphagalileo.org/en-gb/Item-Display/ItemId/179837?returnurl=https://www.alphagalileo.org/en-gb/Item-Display/ItemId/179837
    PersonsPaul Allen, Messaoud Mehafdi
  • Title£120,000 project to eliminate freight train carbon emissions
    Degree of recognitionInternational
    Media name/outletEurekAlert
    Media typeWeb
    Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
    Date12/06/19
    DescriptionRail and business experts are to share an award enabling them to make a powerful case for new technology that could play a key role in eliminating carbon emissions by freight trains in the UK.

    The project, with an overall grant of £120k, will examine the possibilities provided by digital displacement technology developed by Artemis as a more efficient alternative to conventional hydraulic pumps for providing traction and auxiliary power for freight locomotives, shunters and on-track plant. Use of this technology will help facilitate the development of environmentally-beneficial hybrid locomotives.
    URLhttps://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-06/uoh-pt061219.php
    PersonsPaul Allen, Messaoud Mehafdi
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