Page 9 - Innovation in energy management: contribution of railways to sustainable mobility

during the last five years, important initiatives have also continued to be developed with
the aim of reducing their consumption. Among others, ADIF Alta Velocidad continues to
count on the double catenary power supply system, of the 2 x 25 kV type, more efficient than
the simple single-phase 1 x 25 kV system. On the other hand, this type of network will be
the first to experience the benefits associated with the transformation of the conventional
electrical system to intelligent ones (during 2022 a pilot test is planned for a specific path
of this AC network).

In the same way, railway operators are also developing different lines of work: Renfe
continues to implement automatic efficient driving equipment, as well as the development
of associated applications, in the EMUs S102, S112, S130 and S730.

TECHNOLOGICAL PROJECTS: ORIENTATION TOWARDS NEW INTELLIGENT
ELECTRICAL NETWORKS

Since 2016, R&D&i projects developed in the field of electrification systems have been
remarkably diverse, especially the European collaborative projects such as In2Rail,
In2Stempo and E-LOBSTER, all of which are related to the implementation of new intelligent
assets in the railway electrical network and/or integration in equally intelligent networks.
These projects have continued to lay the foundations for the development of more efficient
railway electrical networks, which demonstrates the commitment of the sector to continue
innovating and improving the railway electrical infrastructure.

The main functions to be developed by this type of network are the following:

 Improve and make the management of electricity flows in the railway system more
flexible.
 Improve the operation and maintenance of electrical infrastructure assets,
maximizing the possibilities of remote management and minimizing the overall cost
of operation and maintenance.
 Obtain a more autonomous and dynamic response from the network. With
information management, it is possible to act on the devices and improve the
response and protection of the infrastructure against failures or the coordination of
distributed energy resources to avoid power supply failures, increasing the safety
and reliability of the railway electrical system.
 Broadenunderstanding of the wide variety of consumption points in a network as
complex as the railway traction network.
 Control power flows considering the possible introduction of delocalised electricity
generators based on renewable sources.
 Help future decision-making on strategic approaches related to electricity, such as
the possible evolution towards a self-consumption model in certain locations and
the redefinition of the electricity supply model (energy storage systems, etc. may be
considered).

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Position paper: Innovation in energy management: contribution of railways to sustainable mobility
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