New energy locomotives lead the green transformation of the transportation sector
2024-08-10
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A series of new energy locomotives produced by CRRC Corporation Limited. Photo provided by the interviewee
◎Our reporter Xue Yanjiao Yang
Spacious driver's cab, intelligent driver's console, bright lookout windows... Recently, 7 series of new energy locomotives dressed in "green" were officially unveiled in Beijing.
These locomotives were released to the world for the first time by China CRRC Corporation Limited (hereinafter referred to as "CRRC"). Compared with traditional fuel locomotives, they have excellent environmental performance and effectively solve the problems of high fuel consumption, high emissions, high noise and poor comfort of existing old diesel locomotives.
In December 2023, the National Railway Administration issued the "Management Measures for the Elimination and Renewal of Old Diesel Locomotives (Draft for Comments)", proposing that old diesel locomotives should be completely withdrawn from the railway transportation market starting from 2035. The successful development of the series of new energy locomotives is of great significance for further promoting the renewal of old equipment in the transportation field and promoting the green and low-carbon transformation of high-energy consumption and high-emission locomotives.
Emission reduction and carbon reduction are very powerful
As global environmental issues become increasingly prominent, the concept of green development has gradually become one of the mainstream trends in today's social development. The original old diesel locomotives are heavily polluting, energy-intensive, and noisy, and can no longer meet the needs of green and low-carbon development of railways. To this end, in recent years, the locomotive industry has been looking for clean solutions and has successively produced a variety of new energy locomotives such as hydrogen fuel cell locomotives and hybrid locomotives.
The series of new energy locomotives released by CRRC this time came into being against this background.
These locomotives use three power configurations: internal combustion engine + power battery, power battery, and hydrogen fuel cell, covering a variety of power ranging from 1,000 kilowatts to 2,000 kilowatts, which can fully meet the needs of railway transportation scenarios of domestic and foreign steel metallurgy, mining, electricity, coal, ports and other enterprises.
Compared with traditional internal combustion locomotives, these series of new energy locomotives have unique advantages in carbon reduction. "Internal combustion engine + power battery locomotives have three power modes: power battery, diesel engine and diesel-electric hybrid. In the operating environment where industrial and mining enterprises need to start and stop frequently, these three modes can be switched intelligently to reduce emission pollution caused by incomplete fuel combustion." Zhao Gang, deputy general manager and chief engineer of CRRC Dalian Company, said that power battery and hydrogen fuel cell locomotives can achieve zero pollutant emissions.
From the specific indicators, compared with traditional internal combustion locomotives, internal combustion engine + power battery locomotives can achieve a 45% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions, a 73% reduction in hydrocarbon emissions, and an 83% reduction in carbon monoxide emissions. Based on a 45% reduction in pollutant emissions, one locomotive can emit 4 tons less harmful substances and 374 tons less carbon emissions per year, which is equivalent to planting 34,000 trees.
At the same time, due to different power configurations, the series of new energy locomotives can also reduce the working time of the diesel engine by switching the power source, thereby achieving the purpose of noise reduction. Zhao Gang introduced that under the condition of power battery traction, the locomotive noise time can be reduced by more than 80%. The noise in the driver's cabin can be reduced to below 70 decibels, and the radiated noise outside the car is as low as 58 decibels, which is equivalent to the decibel level of music in a cafe.
Very smart operation
At present, my country's old diesel locomotives are generally at a low level of intelligence due to their early development. Against this background, a series of new energy locomotives have undergone a number of digital transformations to improve their intelligence level.
"The series of new energy locomotives are equipped with high-definition video equipment and laser radar, which can collect 360-degree environmental visual data and monitor the status of application scenarios in real time. Functions such as automatic perception, intelligent decision-making, and smart operation fully guarantee the safe and stable operation of the locomotives." said Li Xining, deputy general manager and chief engineer of CRRC Ziyang Company.
The human-computer interaction system has also greatly improved the convenience of locomotive operation. Through the human-computer interaction interface, the driver can observe the running status of the train in real time. With simple voice commands, the driver can easily control the air conditioner, sunshade, wiper and other equipment, making the driving process more efficient and comfortable.
In terms of fault monitoring of serialized new energy locomotives, the team has also developed a fault prediction and health management (PHM) technology system. "The system can manage the entire life cycle of new energy locomotives," said Li Xining. For faults that have occurred, the system can promptly feedback the fault point and provide maintenance guidance. At the same time, the system can also predict the condition of the locomotive based on the collected data, determine the trend of change, and give maintenance suggestions.
In addition, in order to maximize the safety of drivers and passengers, the R&D team has set up digital safety protection measures for the power battery and hydrogen fuel system. "The monitoring data of the locomotive power source will be transmitted to the on-board microcomputer control system in real time. Once the power source data shows abnormal conditions, the system will issue an early warning and take corresponding measures." Li Xining said.
Energy saving and consumption reduction is cost-effective
In addition to carbon reduction, economic efficiency is the most concerned by users. Old diesel locomotives often start, stop and idle during use. "By adopting hybrid optimal control technology, the internal combustion engine + power battery locomotive can ensure that the internal combustion engine always operates at the best economic speed." said Zhong Huaiqing, deputy general manager and chief engineer of CRRC Qishuyan Company.
For example, with the same volume of oil filled up, when pulling 3,000 tons of cargo on a straight road, the internal combustion engine + power battery locomotive has a range of more than 1,100 kilometers, which is 1.7 times that of an ordinary internal combustion locomotive, and the fuel saving rate is more than 45%.
In addition, the series of new energy locomotives also use new technologies such as high-efficiency traction inverter systems, permanent magnet motors, hybrid power capacity management, and brake energy recovery to improve transmission efficiency and reduce energy consumption, effectively solving the energy waste caused by idling of traditional locomotives and improving energy utilization efficiency.
Zhong Huaiqing told reporters that when these new energy locomotives are equipped with permanent magnet traction motors, the motor efficiency can reach 97%, which is 5% higher than that of asynchronous motors. Under normal working conditions, a single locomotive can save 18,000 kWh of electricity per year.
In terms of daily use costs, series of new energy locomotives are also more affordable. Taking the old diesel locomotives in the steel, metallurgy and other industries as an example, their annual diesel consumption is about 155 tons, and the fuel cost is about 1.4 million yuan. If calculated based on the same amount of work, the power battery locomotive consumes about 530,000 kWh of electricity. Based on the average price of 1 yuan per kWh for industrial electricity, the corresponding cost is more than 530,000 yuan. "This will save the company more than 870,000 yuan a year and about 2,300 yuan a day," said Zhong Huaiqing.
"Not only that, the simplified design can also reduce the maintenance cost of these locomotives." Zhong Huaiqing introduced that "simplified design" can effectively reduce the number of spare parts. For example, if all locomotives use the same air conditioner, only one spare part is needed. This design will make the key components more than 80% simplified, realize the interchangeability of parts between multiple models, facilitate local maintenance for users, and effectively reduce the maintenance cost of locomotives.
At present, there are about 9,700 old diesel locomotives in my country, and it is urgent to replace old locomotives and promote intelligent transformation and upgrading. Zhong Huaiqing said that the series of new energy locomotives will bring large-scale and diversified demand for new energy products, and drive the vigorous development of related industries such as batteries, electrical and motors.
Source: Science and Technology Daily
