OREANDA-NEWS. In early 2015, extensive trials were carried out using the Hybrid PowerPack in a VT 642 regional railcar operated by Deutsche Bahn on the Staudenbahn railway line near the city of Augsburg in Bavaria. “These tests confirmed what we had already verified in theory in computer simulations and on the test stand,” said Dr Ingo Wintruff, Vice President Propulsion & Power Generation and Head of Rail, Mining, Oil&Gas Business at MTU.

“Achieving a fuel saving of a good 15 percent in this repowered vehicle is an outstanding result. A saving of up to 25 percent is possible—compared to current EU Stage IIIB-compliant diesel drives. Considering that fuel consumption accounts for around 90 percent of the total costs of a rail drive system, the potential savings as compared with conventional diesel drives are very apparent.” Noise emissions from the vehicle during travel were also reduced by 5 decibels—a clearly noticeable reduction. During standstill—at a station, for example—the railcar is a full 21 decibels quieter because the auxiliary consumers can be supplied from the batteries and the diesel engine can be shut down.

The MTU Hybrid PowerPack is able to convert surplus braking energy into electrical energy via a generator. This electrical energy is then stored in lithium-ion batteries from where it can be tapped when needed for pulling away on start-up, for accelerating, or for supplying the train’s electrical consumers. This particular configuration of the MTU Hybrid PowerPack utilizes a Type 6H 1800 R75 diesel engine producing 315 kW and an electrical unit supplying up to 400 kW. In addition, the system incorporates SCR exhaust aftertreatment technology with a urea tank to ensure compliance with EU Stage IIIB emissions regulations that have been in place since 2012.

MTU Hybrid PowerPacks facilitate bimodal or—in conjunction with overhead power lines—even trimodal drive solutions. On a two-coach diesel railcar, for example, the diesel unit can be fitted in one coach whilst a battery is located in the other. The electric power for the drive motors is generated either via the diesel engine or the batteries or by both in combination.

About Rolls-Royce Holdings plc

  1. Friedrichshafen, Germany/Birmingham, United Kingdom – From 12 to 14 May 2015, Rolls-Royce will be showcasing its MTU Hybrid PowerPack at the Railtex Exhibition in Birmingham, England, at booth A85. The combined diesel-electric drive brings a fuel saving of up to 25 percent compared to a conventional state-of-the-art diesel drive and in terms of noise emissions is significantly quieter. MTU is part of Rolls-Royce Power Systems within the Land & Sea division of Rolls-Royce.
  2. Rolls-Royce’s vision is to create better power for a changing world via two main business divisions, Aerospace and Land & Sea. These business divisions address markets with two strong technology platforms, gas turbines and reciprocating engines. Aerospace comprises Civil Aerospace and Defence Aerospace. Land & Sea comprises Marine, Nuclear and Power Systems.
  3. Rolls-Royce Power Systems is headquartered in Friedrichshafen in southern Germany and employs around 11,000 people. The product portfolio includes MTU-brand high-speed engines and propulsion systems for ships, power generation, heavy land, rail and defence vehicles and for the oil and gas industry. Under the MTU Onsite Energy brand, the company markets diesel gensets for emergency, base load and peak load applications as well as cogeneration plants using gas engines for the combined generation of heat and power. Bergen medium-speed engines power ships and power generation applications. L’Orange completes the portfolio with fuel injection systems for large engines.
  4. Rolls-Royce has customers in more than 120 countries, comprising more than 380 airlines and leasing customers, 160 armed forces, 4,000 marine customers including 70 navies, and more than 5,000 power and nuclear customers.
  5. Our business is focused on the 4Cs:
    • Customer – placing the customer at the heart of our business
    • Concentration – deciding where to grow and where not to
    • Cost – continually looking to increase efficiency
    • Cash – improving financial performance.
  6. Annual underlying revenue was ?14.6 billion in 2014, around half of which came from the provision of aftermarket services. The firm and announced order book stood at ?73.7 billion at the end of 2014.
  7. In 2014, Rolls-Royce invested ?1.2 billion on research and development. We also support a global network of 31 University Technology Centres, which position Rolls-Royce engineers at the forefront of scientific research.
  8. Rolls-Royce employs over 54,000 people in more than 50 countries. Over 15,500 of these are engineers.
  9. The Group has a strong commitment to apprentice and graduate recruitment and to further developing employee skills. In 2014 we employed 354 graduates and 357 apprentices through our worldwide training programmes. Globally we have over 1,000 Rolls-Royce STEM ambassadors who are actively involved in education programmes and activities; we have set ourselves a target to reach 6 million people through our STEM outreach activities by 2020.