Hitachi Rail is collaborating with Turntide Technologies to design and manufacture traction battery systems for a trial installation on intercity trains, reports Railway Supply, citing Hitachi Rail.

Battery-Powered Trains Underway

Turntide Technologies stated that equipping the Hitachi electro-diesel train with traction batteries to transform it into a tri-mode train could reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by at least 20%, with battery power being used at stations, providing a “faster and more accessible alternative.”

“The electric vehicle industry has already solved the battery solution,” said Jim Brewin, Managing Director of Hitachi Rail UK and Ireland.

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“The real challenge was scaling that technology, designed to power a 2-ton vehicle, up to a train weighing between 200 and 400 tons. It’s not as simple as just making the battery bigger. Hitachi Rail engineers have been working with Turntide for over a year to develop the necessary algorithms and software to achieve this scale.”

The planned trials could make the UK a “world leader in intercity battery train technology” with the potential for mass production of battery modules at Hitachi’s facilities in Gateshead, Sunderland, and Newton Aycliffe.

“The innovation and ingenuity that Turntide brings to electrification is exemplary, and we are delighted to name the company as our preferred supplier of battery systems,” Brewin added.

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