Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups working on innovative solutions for the rail sector. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we want to share our insights with you. This time, you will discover 5 promising rolling stock hybridization solutions.
Heat Map: 5 Top Rolling Stock Hybridization Solutions
Using our StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 1.379.000+ startups & scaleups globally, we looked at innovation in the field of railways. For this research, we identified 153 relevant solutions and picked 5 to showcase below. These companies were chosen based on a data-driven startup scouting approach, taking into account factors such as location, founding year, and relevance of technology, among others. Depending on your specific criteria, the top picks might look entirely different.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 5 startups & scaleups developing innovative rolling stock hybridization solutions. Moreover, the Heat Map reveals regions that observe a high startup activity and illustrates the geographic distribution of all 153 companies we analyzed for this specific topic.
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Bamomas – Hybrid Fleet Maintenance
Power-train battery hybridization is an effective solution to make railways more efficient and sustainable. This type of hybrid railcar uses both a diesel engine as well as batteries to supply power. The use of battery power in railways further opens new opportunities for startups developing battery monitoring solutions. To this end, such solutions help rail operators save battery maintenance costs while improving operational efficiency.
Canadian startup Bamomas offers remote battery monitoring solutions for various industrial markets, including rail. The startup provides condition monitoring and predictive maintenance solutions for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and rail battery fleet operators. The startup’s battery monitoring solution for locomotives helps rail operators reduce maintenance costs and time. The solution also helps optimize spare part inventory and increase the sustainability of railways.
Core Environmental Systems – Battery Power Solutions
Significant power consumption and demand in locomotives impacts the application of battery technology in the rail industry. Traditional batteries often fail to deliver the amount of crank power needed to start the engine. Since existing batteries require an external jump-start to run the locomotive, startups develop batteries that are capable of providing the locomotive with significant crank power.
Core Environmental Systems is an Australian startup that offers energy storage solutions to communities and end-users across industries, including railways. The startup develops the Enviro Cell battery product range, suited to different industries. Enviro Cell – Rail, designed specifically for the demands of the rail industry, solves the crank power shortages of traditional batteries. In the process, the startup reduces, and sometimes eliminates, monetary losses for rail operators and simultaneously increases the efficiency of rail transportation.
Hoeller Electrolyzer – Electrolysis Stacks for Hydrogen
The rise of hydrogen application in the rail industry increases the need for its effective storage. The polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolysis stack system helps satisfy the energy storage needs, thus enabling hydrogen production. Startups are developing highly-efficient and cost-effective PEM electrolysis stacks for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of hydrogen fuel systems.
The US-based startup Hoeller Electrolyzer provides PEM electrolysis stacks for green hydrogen systems manufacturers. The startup offers its Prometheus Electrolysis-Stacks to optimize hydrogen fuel cell storage capabilities in electric and hybrid locomotives. This optimization increases the maximal output of PEM electrolysis and also lowers the costs of storing green hydrogen.
Neo-H2 – Efficient Diesel
Since the rail industry currently uses unsustainable fuel, rail operators are seeking new techniques to reduce their dependence on diesel. New technologies in rail decarbonization include the development of alternative fuels, production of entirely electric and hydrogen-powered trains as well as improvement of diesel efficiency. Startups develop hydrogen-based solutions that enable clean combustion and offer significant fuel savings that ultimately result in the reduction of CO2 emissions.
The US-based startup Neo-H2 provides fuel efficiency and emission control solutions for diesel engines, spark-ignited generators, and hydrogen fuel-cells. The startup utilizes its hydrogen generating system, HR-100, to enhance the utilization of hydrogen as a renewable source. This on-demand technology increases diesel efficiency while cutting fuel costs for rail operators while also lowering carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
CNGmotive – Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Locomotive Fuel
A dual-fuel system, or the use of liquid petroleum gas (LPG), CNG, or liquified natural gas (LNG) as the primary fuel, is a common hybridization approach in railway engineering. The method allows railroad operators to cut energy costs and make rail transport more reliable and sustainable. Further, the reduction in diesel use results in a direct decrease in nitrogen oxide (NOx) levels and particulate matter (PM) emissions.
CNGmotive is a US-based startup that provides CNG locomotive fuelling solutions in the rail industry. The startup offers multiple methods for dual-fuelling, which helps lower energy-related expenses. Further, CNGmotive provides freight operators with composite glass fiber tanks that employ its proprietary Chill Fill technology. These solutions, along with the startup’s CNG-enabling technology, reduce the time and costs of filling a pressure vessel.
What About The Other 148 Solutions?
While we believe data is key to creating insights it can be easy to be overwhelmed by it. Our ambition is to create a comprehensive overview and provide actionable innovation intelligence and enable you to achieve your goals faster. The 5 rolling stock hybridization startups showcased above are promising examples out of 153 we analyzed for this article. To identify the most relevant solutions based on your specific criteria, get in touch.
