FCH2RAIL: Demonstration of the Fuel Cell Hybrid PowerPack

This presentation summarises the current highlights in the EU project FCH2RAIL related to the testing and demonstration of the Fuel Cell Hybrid PowerPack. In September 2022 the demonstrator train has been operated the first time with hydrogen

Project InitiativE-BW - Real-world driving, energy demand, user experiences and emissions of electrified vehicle fleets

Policy makers see electrified vehicles (EV) as one instrument to reduce local air pollution and also towards a mitigation of climate change. It is known that the “real driving” energy demand of conventional vehicles is significantly higher than the norm consumption. However, there is limited knowledge for the real-world energy demand and charging patterns of EV fleets. Furthermore, first user experiences are important for the uptake of the electrified vehicles. There are not many studies in this field either. Last but not least, the environmental effects of electrified vehicles should be compared with the conventional vehicles in order to assure the positive effect. There are several studies, which compared the well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions from conventional and electrified vehicles. However, most of these studies took the yearly electricity mix as basis for the calculations. Therefore, this paper aims to close this knowledge gap by measuring the energy consumption of the electrified vehicle fleets with vehicle data loggers. Furthermore, information on user experiences are gathered by questionnaires. The intentions and expectations are compared and contrasted with the real world driving behaviour of the users. Within the government funded project InitiativE-BW, which started in summer 2014, more than 44 battery electric vehicles (BEV) have been equipped with data loggers in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg. The project consortium consists of leasing companies, a research institute and a public relations manager to promote the project in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. The data loggers are intended to run until the end of 2016. The EVs are mostly used by commercial fleets e.g. in social services, car sharing, IT-services and municipalities. The data logged includes hours of operation, state of charge (SoC), mileages driven, speed statistics and GPS information. First results show that varying ambient temperatures have a significant influence on the BEV energy consumption. Average energy consumption is up to 45% higher during winter months. The influence of the charging behaviour of the users is analysed to evaluate the CO2 emissions of the vehicles based on hourly electricity consumption and specific emission profiles of the available power sources, which might significantly deviate from the yearly electricity mix of the country. Among all participants of InitiativE-BW, expectations and experiences with leased EVs are repeatedly evaluated through questionnaires. The questionnaires aim on user costs, electricity tariffs, expected mileages and predicted needs for electric ranges. So far, survey results indicate that EV technical benefits such as their pronounced acceleration are not commonly known. The paper / presentation will present the project itself and the results of measurements and questionnaires analysis until mid of 2016

Development of energy assessment methodology and simulation tool in Shift2Rail projects FINE1 and OPEUS

The objective of this work is to develop the simulation methodology to systematically assess the improvements in terms of energy demand of the innovations, which are developed within the S2R Technical Demonstrators (TDs). The methodology and simulation tool have been developed in close collaboration with the Horizon 2020 project OPEUS. While here only an overview of the requirements can be provided, a detailed description is documented in the FINE1 Deliverable D3.4 Requirement Specification for Energy Simulation Tool

Energy Impact of Different Intra-Platoon Spacing Policies for Virtually-Coupled Trains Sets (VCTS)

Virtually-coupled train sets (VCTS) is a new railway operation concept that allows trains to drive together in a harmonized fashion without a physical connection, similar to a platoon of road vehicles. Since the distance between trains is not necessarily fixed (in contrast to mechanically connected trains), VCTS may get a small time advantage every time there is a change in the speed limit of the track. This paper analyses the time difference between mechanically coupled trains and VCTS using two different inter-vehicular distancing policy (namely constant gap (CDG) and constant headway (CTH)). The analysis is carried out analytically for a simple track for sake of visualization, and numerically on a virtual but representative regional track. The results show that the time advantage for CDG policy non-negligible, while the CTH performs worse than its mechanical counterpart. This report shows also that the time advantage can be converted into energy reduction in the range from 2-12% by allowing trains to drive slower while respecting the same timetable

Applicability and Development of a Direct Method Optimization Algorithm on Trajectories and Energy Minimizing Control for Hybrid Fuel Cell Railway Vehicles

The content of this paper presents a method to determine an energy-optimal operation of a battery-electric fuel cell hybrid train. As a novelty in the realms of numerical energy optimization is the simultaneously optimization of the actual energy management and train operation. To assess on the hydrogen savings potential made available by the developed optimization method, a comparison against a rule-based approach is conducted. Furthermore, the robustness and flexibility in handling variable component sizes is presented. Finalized is the paper with a conclusion on the results and an outlook is given on further development of the proposed algorithm

FCH2RAIL insights: Demonstration of the Fuel Cell Hybrid PowerPack

In the EU project FCH2RAIL the project partners are developing and testing a new kind of power source for train applications: The Fuel Cell Hybrid PowerPack. This bi-mode hybrid powertrain system combines the electrical power supply from the overhead line with the emission-free hybrid power pack. It consists of fuel cells and batteries and it is designed that power and range can be scaled based on a modular principle: The number of fuel cell and batteries influences the drive power; the number of hydrogen tanks defines the range on non-electrified lines. For more than 18 exciting months the FCH2RAIL partners have been working intensively on the development of the Fuel Cell Hybrid PowerPack. Now the time has come to share the recent highlights related to testing of the innovative power pack and the demonstrator train

Alternative powertrains for shunting locomotives - analysis of feasibility and limitations

Zero-emission powertrain technologies for shunting locomotives are becoming increasingly relevant as potential replacement candidates to diesel operated powertrains. We investigate the feasibility of zero-emission technologies in light of generic operational shunter locomotive profiles and available limited space and mass of a widely in use MaK G 1206 four axle center-cab shunting locomotive. Two generic shunting locomotive operational cycle profiles were defined based on a survey among German shunting locomotive operators: a pure shunting profile and a mixed shunting and mainline service profile. Daily energy demand at DC link level in both scenarios is similar (1,469 and 1,368 kWh respectively), but average power is higher in the mixed mainline/shunting profile. Powertrain candidates were fuel cell hybrid, battery electric, overhead wire battery electric, BiMode overhead battery electric and hydrogen internal combustion engine. Key powertrain component dimensioning for both scenarios is done using a hybridization tool incorporating volumetric and efficiency specifications of state-of-the-art railway components. The fuel cell hydrogen and overhead wire battery electric drivetrains can fulfill the energy and power requirements for the defined operational profiles, whereas the hydrogen internal combustion engine powertrain has limitations due to installation space restrictions in terms of hydrogen storage tanks. Advancements in energy storage technologies might influence the applicability of alternative powertrain systems, not only of hydrogen-based but also of battery-based propulsion systems. Further research and demonstration projects on zero-tailpipe emission shunting locomotives are recommended