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Economic, environmental and grid-resilience benefits of converting diesel trains to battery-electric

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  • Natalie D. Popovich

    (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

  • Deepak Rajagopal

    (University of California)

  • Elif Tasar

    (University of California)

  • Amol Phadke

    (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

Abstract

Nearly all US locomotives are propelled by diesel-electric drives, which emit 35 million tonnes of CO2 and produce air pollution causing about 1,000 premature deaths annually, accounting for approximately US$6.5 billion in annual health damage costs. Improved battery technology plus access to cheap renewable electricity open the possibility of battery-electric rail. Here we show that a 241-km range can be achieved using a single standard boxcar equipped with a 14-MWh battery and inverter, while consuming half the energy consumed by diesel trains. At near-future battery prices, battery-electric trains can achieve parity with diesel-electric trains if environmental costs are included or if rail companies can access wholesale electricity prices and achieve 40% use of fast-charging infrastructure. Accounting for reduced criteria air pollutants and CO2 emissions, switching to battery-electric propulsion would save the US freight rail sector US$94 billion over 20 years.

Suggested Citation

  • Natalie D. Popovich & Deepak Rajagopal & Elif Tasar & Amol Phadke, 2021. "Economic, environmental and grid-resilience benefits of converting diesel trains to battery-electric," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 6(11), pages 1017-1025, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natene:v:6:y:2021:i:11:d:10.1038_s41560-021-00915-5
    DOI: 10.1038/s41560-021-00915-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Yue, Xiyan & Qiao, Bozheng & Wang, Jiajia & Xie, Zhengkun & Liu, Zhao & Yang, Zhengpeng & Abudula, Abuliti & Guan, Guoqing, 2023. "Layered metal chalcogenide based anode materials for high performance sodium ion batteries: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    2. Kumar, Gokula Manikandan Senthil & Cao, Sunliang, 2023. "Leveraging energy flexibilities for enhancing the cost-effectiveness and grid-responsiveness of net-zero-energy metro railway and station systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 333(C).
    3. Breschi, Valentina & Ravazzi, Chiara & Strada, Silvia & Dabbene, Fabrizio & Tanelli, Mara, 2023. "Driving electric vehicles’ mass adoption: An architecture for the design of human-centric policies to meet climate and societal goals," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    4. Ahsan, Nabeel & Hewage, Kasun & Razi, Faran & Hussain, Syed Asad & Sadiq, Rehan, 2023. "A critical review of sustainable rail technologies based on environmental, economic, social, and technical perspectives to achieve net zero emissions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    5. Jessica Kersey & Natalie D. Popovich & Amol A. Phadke, 2022. "Rapid battery cost declines accelerate the prospects of all-electric interregional container shipping," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 7(7), pages 664-674, July.
    6. John P. Barton & Murray Thomson, 2021. "Solar Power and Energy Storage for Decarbonization of Land Transport in India," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-24, December.
    7. Ng, Max T.M. & Hernandez, Adrian & Durango-Cohen, Pablo L. & Mahmassani, Hani S., 2024. "Trading off energy storage and payload – An analytical model for freight train configuration," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    8. Hernandez, Adrian & Ng, Max & Durango-Cohen, Pablo L. & Mahmassani, Hani S., 2024. "Optimizing service networks to support freight rail decarbonization: Flow selection, facility location, and energy sourcing," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 317(3), pages 906-920.
    9. He, Hongwen & Meng, Xiangfei & Wang, Yong & Khajepour, Amir & An, Xiaowen & Wang, Renguang & Sun, Fengchun, 2024. "Deep reinforcement learning based energy management strategies for electrified vehicles: Recent advances and perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).

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