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Burning Journal -> Engine Pit -> Axion to aid Norfolk Southern’s battery-run locomotive
Post Info TOPIC: Axion to aid Norfolk Southern’s battery-run locomotive
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Axion to aid Norfolk Southern’s battery-run locomotive
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Axion to aid Norfolk Southerns battery-run locomotive

(The following story by John D. Boyd appeared on The Journal of Commerce website on June 9, 2010.)

WASHINGTON, D.C. Norfolk Southern Railway is tapping Axion Power International to develop a battery management system for the all-electric yard locomotive it unveiled last year.

NS brought Axion in to help the company come up with a way for all the 1,080 12-volt batteries on the yard engine to discharge and recharge at the same pace, said NS spokesman Rudy Husband.

The railroad built the prototype 1,500-horsepower plug-in switching locomotive with help from a $1.3 million federal grant, and introduced it in September at its Juniata Locomotive Shop in Altoona, Pa. The unit harvests power produced through braking to help recharge its huge pack of batteries

We used the frame of an old GP38 (locomotive model) and built it from the ground up, said Husband. The unit is based and tested at Altoona but the company has taken it around its eastern-U.S. network to show off, and recently displayed it last month for lawmakers in Washington, D.C.

But making it work efficiently means getting control of the discharge and recharge issues. Axion specializes in energy storage technologies for lead-acid batteries. "The key will be developing a battery management system that is robust, safe, dependable and easy to maintain," said Thomas Granville, Axion chairman and CEO.

The success of the prototype can determine whether NS gets more such all-electric units. Its a very deliberative process, said Husband, and before we proceed to another project we have to be comfortable with the one we have.

Thursday, June 10, 2010



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Calvin


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*sigh*



-- Edited by Calvin on Thursday 10th of June 2010 12:17:13 PM

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Calvin


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Calvin wrote:

Battery management?

Sounds like a Buss bar problem coupled to an astronomically high number of mechanical connections that are prone to corrosion and mechanical vibration troubles. (each and every battery + and - )(2,160 connections to be exact)

I salute Axiom in taking the baton.
Hope they didnt spend too much on new running shoes... 



 







-- Edited by Calvin on Thursday 10th of June 2010 12:24:51 PM

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Calvin wrote:

*sigh*



-- Edited by Calvin on Thursday 10th of June 2010 12:17:13 PM

 1468



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Uke


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The 1main point about battery management? No lead/acid cells. Lithium ion type batteries will overcome the corrosive action of the sulphuric acid problem. Or the use of so called 'gel-cell' batteries can avoid the same issues of acid corrosion.

Both types of batteries though, are more expensive than our well know lead-acid storage batteries. But both offer longer life, and recharge/discharge cycles.

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Norfolk Southern
Zero emission battery-powered train to spruce up NS locomotives
Posted by: Desh | Oct 7 2009

ns 999 all electric train

The all-new NS 999 prototype battery-powered train is a 1,500-horsepower plug-in locomotive anticipating cleaner transportation down the rails at Norfolk Southern Corp. Equipped with a string of 1,080 lead-acid energy storage systems, its 12-volt batteries keep on recharging when the brakes are applied.

ns 999 all electric train 2

The electric train ensures zero exhaust emissions owing to the absence of a diesel engine. It does not ask for recharging before it is operated for three shifts on single charge. An elaborate battery-management system ensures safety and maximum battery life.

Developed jointly by Norfolk Southern, the US Department of Energy, the Federal Railroad Administration and Penn State, the $1.3 million train aims to bring down the overall carbon footprints of the transportation sector in the Norfolk region.

Via: Boston Herald

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NS working to develop locomotive battery system
Two days after announcing plans to work with GE Transportation to implement movement planner software across its network, Norfolk Southern Railway unveiled another partnership with a supplier aimed at advancing the latest locomotive technology, Progressive Railroading reported.

On Wednesday, NS announced it's working with Axion Power International Inc. to develop a battery management system designed to operate locomotives on battery power and recharge their batteries through regenerative braking. The system would feature Axion Power's PbC batteries to enable selected locomotives to operate without diesel generator sets, helping make NS' trains the "cleanest in North America," according to Axion Power.

"The key will be developing a battery management system that is robust, safe, dependable and easy to maintain," said Axion Power Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Granville in a prepared statement. "We are highly confident, based on our ongoing work, that this system can be successfully demonstrated in a fairly short timeframe."

(The preceding report appeared on the Web site www.progressiverailroading.com on June 10, 2010.)

 

June 11, 2010


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Calvin


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http://www.axionpower.com/profiles/investor/fullpage.asp?f=1&BzID=1933&to=cp&Nav=0&LangID=1&s=0&ID=10294

Welcome to Axion Power International, Inc.

We are a Delaware corporation with a research and development operating subsidiary in New Castle, Pennsylvania, just outside of Pittsburgh. Axion is developing advanced batteries and an energy storage product based on our patented lead carbon battery PbC Technology.

Conventional lead-acid batteries use negative electrodes made of sponge lead pasted onto a lead grid current collector. In comparison, our technology uses negative electrodes made of microporous activated carbon with very high surface area. The result is a battery-supercapacitor hybrid that uses less lead.


Comments from the peanut stand:

So there's still Lead and Acid in the battery.
If ya wanna dive in deeper you'll find these batterys dont have the capacity that a regular lead acid battery has. Ya give up capacity to give up some lead.
Capacity..Ya something you can afford ta give up on an electrical beast like a Locomotive.
As I said...Good Luck Boys...hope ya all the luck in the world.



-- Edited by Calvin on Wednesday 16th of June 2010 05:49:10 AM

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wes


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Thanks guys for keeping this one alive.  I still like my Prius, which uses no fuel when going down hill or braking.  It also uses no fuel when stopped in traffic.  Thi logic of the thing is that braking or downhill driving puts energy back into the traction battery.  I'm a Ford person but have not had time to look into their system.

The all-electric claim sounds like it has a bit of snake oil on board, even for yard use.  [not to mention recharge time]   

 Applying the hybrid idea to a train engine would give it infinite range, and would consume less fuel than straight diesel-electric.  It would also eliminate need for much of the heat-transfer hardware /  fans needed to dispell the heat of regen braking.

The only downside I can see is a possible need to stop and restart the diesel engine frequently for yard work.

Let's talk some more on this concept..............................wes--the only guy here older than Uke.aww



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Uke's not here, man.

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The NS 999 hasn't fared so well. Last Snippy saw it, it was the static display locomotive at Juniata.

The gensets were supposed to do a lot like wes writes about without the hybrid capabilities -- three 700 hp Cummins diesels cycling according to load to be the same as a 2000 hp locomotive. The results are less than spectacular.

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