11.07.14
Tram innovators win funding to develop ideas
Plans to develop a low-cost overhead power system are among the first four projects to receive funding from UKTram’s £3m Low Impact Light Rail scheme.
Designed to promote innovation in the light rail sector, the scheme attempts to encourage new ideas within the industry that reduce costs in track and energy usage on the country’s tram networks.
Funded by the UK’s innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board SBRI programme, the scheme was launched in late 2013. Now, the first four projects to be awarded funding under the scheme have been announced, they include:
- Low Impact Energy Supply – Tram Power Ltd, Bootle, Merseyside: A proposal for a visually sympathetic lightweight and low-cost overhead power supply system designed specifically for light rail systems.
- Fuel Cells to Power Light Rail Systems – Ynni Glan, Cardiff: The project will look at the use of fuel cells to power light rail vehicles rather than traditional electrical supplies.
- WITT Energy Harvesting – WITT Ltd, Plymouth: The project will utilise an energy harvesting to utilise the energy generated from the vibration of the moving light rail vehicle to power on-vehicle and line-side equipment without the need for power supplies to be installed.
- More Energy Efficient Trams – Alta Innovations Ltd, Birmingham, West Midlands: This project will provide a set of tools to maximise the efficiency of how light rail vehicles utilise their power requirements so as to reduce the overall environmental impact of trams and reduce the whole life cost of operation through reducing power
Geoff Inskip, chair of UKTram, said: “This is a really exciting time for light rail in the UK. We are seeing the expansion of several of our light rail systems and light rail now carrying nearly a quarter of a billion passengers in the UK each year.
“Through projects such as these we aim to improve the cost effectiveness of light rail which will assist in bringing it to more of our towns and cities.”
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