Gelderland is exploring the use of overhead railway lines as an energy network.
Published on 10-02-2020 at 10:43 by Paul van den Bogaard.
The province of Gelderland will investigate whether the overhead lines of railway tracks can be used to transport electrical energy to the regular electricity grid. For example, to supply power to homes or charging stations. By giving overhead lines a dual function, the province believes it could also make it easier to secure funding for the electrification of railway routes that currently still use diesel trains.
In addition to railway lines, this method could also be applied to the overhead lines of trolleybuses, trams, and metro systems. The province of Gelderland is commissioning a study to explore the potential benefits and technical feasibility of this approach. In addition to accelerating the electrification of railway lines that still use diesel trains, this method could also help expand the capacity of the electricity grid more quickly. For example, it could improve the ability to process energy from solar parks, according to a spokesperson for the province.
Hedgehog Applications
The idea for this research came from environmental deputy Jan van der Meer and originated during the New Year’s dinner of Railforum. “I was sitting at a table with various experts from the railway industry and presented the issue we are facing in Gelderland. We want to make the railway network more sustainable by moving away from diesel trains. On the other hand, Liander lacks the capacity to properly process the output from solar parks. During my conversation at Railforum, the idea of combining functions emerged spontaneously. The current plan is to bring together people from ProRail, Liander, transport operators, technicians, and civil servants to explore what is possible and what it could yield. I expect we will see the first results within the next six months.”
Earlier, Van der Meer had a similar conversation with Arjan Heinen of Hedgehog Applications. Heinen is the creator of the Hedgehog System, which stores the braking energy from trains via the overhead lines in batteries, and can be used to charge, for example, electric buses or cars. The energy can also be sent back to the train when it needs extra power to accelerate. “It would be great if we could combine the technology of Hedgehog with the ideas we discussed during the Railforum dinner,” said Van der Meer.
Heinen presented his system back in 2014 and won several innovation awards, including one from the European railway industry association UIC. In Apeldoorn, the Hedgehog System almost became a reality, but it ultimately fell through due to legislation and a new concession that was already in an advanced stage. Now, however, there seems to be renewed hope elsewhere in the same province.
Cruise ships
Arjan Heinen, in response, expressed full support for the idea of using trains to address capacity issues with the power grid. “Especially in cities like Amsterdam, energy companies are encountering the limits of their network capacity. Electric driving is taking off, homes need to transition away from gas, and cruise ships will have to switch to shore power instead of running generators when they dock in the port of Amsterdam in the future. We’re talking about a huge amount of electricity being demanded.”
According to Heinen, there are better and faster solutions for electrifying railway lines to eliminate diesel trains. “Building an overhead line network takes years. A much better option would be to use battery trains. It’s much simpler, and you can charge the batteries with the electricity you recover from regenerative braking. Combine this with the energy generated by the solar parks that are increasingly being seen along the tracks.”
Network operators
According to Deputy Jan van der Meer, network operators are struggling to make the current electricity grid suitable for the additional supply of power from solar parks and wind turbines. “It could have many advantages if they can make use of the overhead lines of the railways,” he says in an interview with De Gelderlander. “The railway lines often run through empty areas, which makes it easier to obtain permits for the installation of cables.”
In Arnhem, a similar trial is already underway, with bus operator Connexxion among the participants. Here, charging stations for electric cars draw their power from the overhead lines of trolleybuses. In addition to supplying power to the buses, the braking energy from the buses is also sent back to the overhead lines. This Smarttrolleygrid project has been running since 2015, and e-taxis are now using the charging stations.
