Decarbonising Auxiliary Load in Freight Today

货运机车的辅助电力需求占总电力需求的10-15%，包括发动机和牵引电机冷却、安全和信号系统以及机车控制系统。这些负载目前由无处不在的内燃机柴油动力系统上的交流发电机提供服务。这种需求是持续的，要求柴油ICE在货运服务面临的大量停留时间期间保持通电/空转。因此，高达20%的货运机车燃料消耗和排放（二氧化碳和颗粒物）来自非牵引方面。虽然货运作业的极端牵引要求限制了完全脱碳动力系统的采用-除非对牵引功率或范围做出妥协-但现有的铁路技术都没有针对重要的辅助功率要求。G-volution已经聘请了一个横跨整个英国供应链的团队，以实现和集成货运机车上的车载辅助电源系统，基于高能量密度燃料电池和碳中性生物液化石油气燃料系统。虽然最初代表最低的成本/技术壁垒路线，以催化显着的CO2，废气排放和柴油燃料的节省货运，这种方法也有潜力替代牵引电力在长期内，并支持过渡到绿色氢作为铁路运输燃料。通过与英国货运运营商的现场演示，因此，该项目将证明，能够使用一系列更清洁、更环保、更便宜的零净碳可再生燃料的高效燃料电池可以在铁路环境中工作，并通过降低燃料成本和未来的环境税，为所有运营商带来重大的商业利益。

Freight locomotives have auxiliary electric power requirements which account for up to 10-15% of the total power demand, covering engine and traction motor cooling, safety and signalling systems and locomotive control systems.These loads are currently serviced by an alternator on ubiquitous diesel ICE powertrains. This demand is persistent, requiring the diesel ICEs to remain powered up/idling during the significant periods of dwell time faced by freight services. Up to 20% of freight locomotive fuel consumption and emissions, from CO2 and particulates, therefore arise from non-traction aspects.Whilst extreme traction requirements for freight operations restricts adoption of full decarbonised powertrains - unless compromises for traction power or range are made - no existing rail technology targets the significant auxiliary power requirements.In response, G-volution have engaged a team cutting across the full UK supply chain to realise and integrate a first-of-a-kind system for on-board auxiliary power on freight locomotives, based on high energy-density fuel cells and a carbon neutral bio-LPG fuel system.Whilst initially representing the lowest cost/technical barrier route to catalyse significant CO2, exhaust emission and diesel fuel savings in freight, this approach has potential to also substitute traction power in the long term, and supports the transition to green hydrogen as a rail transport fuel.Through a live demonstration with a UK freight operator, the project will therefore prove that high-efficiency fuel cells, which are able to use a range of cleaner, greener, cheaper zero net carbon renewable fuels, can work in the rail environment and also stimulate significant commercial benefits for all operators, via reduced fuel costs and future envionmental levies.