This new type of electric train is on track to electrify the US freight rail network and push diesel trucks off the highways, too (image courtesy of Parallel Systems).
The US startup Parallel Systems is on the way to commercializing a railcar-based electric train solution, with an assist from the US Department of Energy.
The Pennsylvania firm Voltify is laying plans for a network of solar-powered microgrids to ferry renewable energy around the country by freight car while decarbonizing diesel-electric locomotives, too.
ChatGPT generated panoramic image of a flat-style infographic titled “Fueling the Future: Electric vs Hydrogen Trucks,” showing an electric truck with a green check mark and a hydrogen truck with a red prohibition symbol.
The best news in freight decarbonization this year didn’t come from a truck manufacturer, a startup accelerator, or a press release festooned with EU flags. It came from a bunch of European economists. That’s right—after years of letting hydrogen hype men and fossil PR firms monopolize the freight emissions debate, … [continued]
ChatGPT & DALL-E generated panoramic image of an electric European semi trailer covered in circuitry driving on a highway through the Alps
A month ago, I spent some time assembling statistics on major geographies’ split of domestic freight tonnage across different modes: road, rail, and water. I was surprised to find that road freight was so much more dominant in Europe than rail compared to other major geographies. I think of Europe … [continued]
ChatGPT & DALL-E generated panoramic image of a multi-modal transport corridor featuring a highway with electric trucks, a railroad with freight trains, and a canal with electric ships
Every major geography will be electrifying virtually all domestic freight shipping in the coming two to three decades. However, the starting conditions matter between India, Europe, China, and the United States. This assessment sprang out of a bit of news and discussion related to it today. China’s Windrose Technology and … [continued]
A Missouri startup is pushing the envelope on electric trains with a fleet of autonomously operable, battery-electric railcars (photo courtesy of Intramotev).
A Missouri startup is pushing the envelope on electric trains with a fleet of autonomously operable, battery-electric railcars.
When most people envision climate action, images of solar panels and wind farms often come to mind. However, electricity generation is only part of the decarbonization puzzle. The climate crisis calls for an all-hands-on-deck approach to decarbonizing the world’s goods and services, including how they are designed, produced, sourced, and transported.
The potential for a reasonably easy to solve distribution network is part of what leaves the door open for hydrogen for trains. The other part is fossil fuel interests lobbying for a hydrogen future.
The major causes of climate change and air pollution are the burning of fossil fuels for electrical generation and transportation. Bill Gates accepts that but thinks that technical solutions don’t exist already and need to be discovered. Thiel doesn’t even accept climate change, but still thinks we need to invest … [continued]
