08.01.20
EIC announces Network Rail collaboration to optimise UK railways
The Energy Innovation Centre (EIC) has announced a new collaboration with Network Rail which will see it support the rail company in continuing to deliver reliable and sustainable power to its infrastructure.
The EIC will look to draw on its international energy innovation community, as well as an in-house technical experience working with the UK’s energy networks, to improve, optimise and support Network Rail’s electrical infrastructure and boost its reliability.
Particularly, the rail company hopes to discover innovative solutions for monitoring the condition of Uninterruptible Power Supply Systems, which are essential to ensuring the continued availability of critical power supplies, such as signalling power, in the event of a Distribution Network Operator (DNO) power supply outage.
Among the EIC’s innovator community, from which it will draw much of its knowledge and insight, are a number of specialist electrical and railway engineers whose input may well prove invaluable to the collaboration.
Operations director at EIC, Matthieu Michel, said: ““Supporting the rail sector is a natural next step for the EIC. We will be playing a vital role in connecting Network Rail with a global community of innovators who will support it in enhancing its electrical network performance for the future.
“Having run similar collaborations with some of the UK’s biggest energy networks and water companies, we are really excited to have the opportunity to share our knowledge with another vital UK industry. Facilitating the discovery and development of innovative ideas is what we do best, and this high impact project will allow us to demonstrate this.”
Mark Gaddes, R&D project manager at Network Rail, added: ““We’re continually looking for ways to transform and innovate within our rail network – with the aim of staying ahead of future demands.
“EIC has a wealth of experience and vital connections with innovators and utilities from the energy sector whose experience will be critical in helping us to achieve our goals.
“We look forward to working with the EIC and investigating other collaborations with energy and water companies.”
The initial collaboration between the EIC and Network Rail began in December and will run until June 2020.