SPEL provides complete range of Supercapacitors, Capacitors and integration support for complete Rail variants. Depending on the supply system and the load range, the rail traction variants can be categorized as (i)Heavy Rail Diesel-Locomotive, (ii) Heavy Rail Catenary supplied Electric traction, (iii) Light Rail Rapid transit Vehicles.
Diesel-Locomotive Application: In Diesel locomotive the traditional Internal Combustion Engine drives a three-phase generator that is connected to a three-phase rectifier that provides common dc bus voltage for various on train applications. Supercapacitors advantage can utilized for cranking of IC Engine of Locomotive, and also for peak power requirement of common dc bus voltage and short term energy storage.
Catenary Electric Locomotive: In this the traction drive power source is supplied from an overhead AC line typically 15 to 25 KV/50Hz line via a pantograph. The on board system consist of step-down transformer, a rectifier, a dc link (bus capacitor CBUS), and a traction inverter. The dynamic brake resistor is connected to the dc bus via a brake dc–dc converter. Supercapacitors can be effectively incorporated for peak power requirement, Regenerative energy capaturing, and short term energy storage
High Speed and Metro: It is commonly adopted solution in urban public transportation The locomotive powering is through overhead line via a pantograph and the rail contact, or on board long term storage for typical predefined range. The supply voltage varies from country to country.Typically it is dc voltage ranging from 1.5 and 3kV. In this for on board long term storage is Supercapacitor assisted hybrid power-pack for dislocated multi-inverter traction drive applications. Supercapacitors can be used for door operation, and for onboard rapid response Safety systems.
Light Rail Transit Application: SPEL's Lithium Ion Capacitor (LIC) can charge light rail Vehicles in 30 seconds and keep them going for 5 to 10 minutes, ensuring the trolley will be able to restart quickly in constant stop-and-go traffic.LIC modules of 720 V system improves charge-time for catenary-free rail and efficiency of energy recovery systems.
Railway Signalling and Railway Charging Support:Advantage of using Supercapacitors for Railway signalling backup in place of battery is that, unlike battery UPS it does not require any Changeover.
Future Potential Of Supercapacitors in Rail:Supercapacitor if deployed for traction application along with batteries potentially can eliminate the need of overhead electrical infrastructure and can accelerate the future development of hybrid-powered trains for light rail vehicles. Such applications energy storage devices has to be robust, reliable, with long service life and low maintenance, and Supercapacitor is the only technology for such application.
Supercapacitors can also be deployed for enhancing/supporting Locomotive Charging Setup.