The Technische Universität Dresden and the University of Birmingham have come together and started a research project focused on battery-powered traction technology for railways. Rail developer, investor and asset management company, Rock Rail, is a key player in rolling stock leasing and initiated the project to support its activties in Germany to provide innovative rail funding solutions that deliver sustainable traction technology including electrical and battery-driven propulsion. Currently, this research project is one of four international projects that are being consolidated in the Saxony railway innovation cluster SET4FUTURE. The TU Dresden is one of the key cluster partners in the innovation cluster SET4FUTURE.
Rail is already one of the most eco-friendly and sustainable transport modes in the world. However, there is always room for improvement to its carbon footprint and traction represents a significant portion of the energy needed to run a railway. Electrification using overhead wires is already an efficient and potentially emission-free way to propel trains: currently 60% of Germany’s federal rail networks are electrified (source: Allianz pro Schiene) adducing 90 percent of the total transport performance. But full electrification of all German rail networks is not economically viable due to the high cost of electrification infrastructure. However, a solution can be found by replacing diesel technlogy with low-carbon alternatives for propulsion. The collaborative research project between the Technische Universität Dresden and the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education at the University of Birmingham looks to explore these.
The 3-month project will look at the extent to which battery technologies are able to substitute for traditional diesel traction on the German network.
Rock Rail is keen to support the German railway market in the introduction of vehicles powered by eco-friendly battery technology. For Rock Rail the university-based cooperation means the combined support of two of the leading research facilities in energy systems and propulsion technology.
Demonstrating the value of multinational cooperation, the project partners met at a technology workshop in March 2020. The Saxon-British technology workshop was funded by the Free State of Saxony and organised by SET4FUTURE in partnership with the UK’s Rail Alliance and Saxony’s BTS Rail Saxony. Both organisations are local clusters supporting their communities of rail supply companies and have been working closely together for 10 years as part of the wider European Railway Clusters Initiative (ERCI).
