Flexible Railway Energy Hubs demonstration

Challenge 

As one of the UK’s largest consumers of electricity - accounting for more than one percent of national demand – the rail sector has long sought innovations to help it transition to cleaner energy sources, such as renewables.  

The Flexible Railway Energy Hubs project will demonstrate, for the first time, a microgrid solution to interface between the electricity and rail networks and deliver flexible, cost-effective use of power to run the railway.  

The Hubs will facilitate the integration of Megawatts (MW) scale battery storage systems and renewable generation onto the rail network, demonstrating a whole-systems approach to power network management.  

It is envisaged that the project will demonstrate that Hubs could offer a viable future approach to decarbonising sections of the UK rail network without requiring major infrastructure upgrades, with potential savings to both rail and electricity customers.

Approach

Working alongside fellow supporting partners, SP Energy Transmission (lead sponsor), a UK electricity transmission network operator, Network Rail, the national rail infrastructure manager, the University of Leeds, and GE Vernova, our experts will play a pivotal role in the delivery of the project from demonstration through to a viable commercial product.

Support provided by Ricardo will include: 

• Technical due diligence on the design of the demonstration site.  
• Development of the commercial model and rollout plans.  
• Provision of a safety case assessment for Network Rail to safely integrate battery storage and microgrids onto the existing electrified railway.  
• Advisory to Network Rail for trial scoping and data analysis from the demonstration trial.  
• Stakeholder planning, engagement and sharing of key learning.  

Outcome

Central to the project is a 25kV AC energy microgrid in Ayr on on the southwest coast of Scotland, which will facilitate the storage of energy to deliver services to both railway and power networks.

Whereas railways have hitherto drawn power from the Grid in real time – and frequently during costly peak demand periods - the microgrid demonstration will enable energy to be accessed when prices are lower and stored. 

The Flexible Railway Energy Hubs project is expected to run through to 2029 and is funded through the Strategic Innovation Fund, a programme managed by Ofgem, the UK energy regulator, in partnership with Innovate UK.