introducing the hydrolley by stan thompson—volunteer, heat, the hydrogen economy advancement team,...
TRANSCRIPT
INTRODUCING THE
HYDROLLEY
by Stan Thompson—volunteer, HEAT,by Stan Thompson—volunteer, HEAT,the Hydrogen Economy Advancement Team,the Hydrogen Economy Advancement Team,
Mooresville-South Iredell Economic Development CorporationMooresville-South Iredell Economic Development CorporationMooresville, North Carolina USAMooresville, North Carolina USA
The first charts in this PowerPoint were originallycreated by James Graebner, Streetcar CommitteeChairman of APTA, the American PublicTransportation Association, to show the extent ofstreetcar reintroduction in the USA.
Its use here affirms Mr. ŹGraebnerÕs point andshows how the advent of hydrogen fuel celltechnology for streetcarsŃÓhydrolleysÓŃ canbring about streetcar reintroduction much soonerand at far less cost.
WHY STREETCARS WHY STREETCARS ARE BEING REINTRODUCEDARE BEING REINTRODUCED• Developers are willing to commit capital to
business and residential construction on fixed rail transit lines.
• This creates urban demographics not dependent on car ownership.
• Higher density means much lower infrastructure cost per capita.
• Streetcars are widely thought of as being “up-market” from buses; draw more riders.
Somewhere between these pictures...
...and this picture is the reality of overhead trolley electrification.
Hydrogen fuel cell hydrolleys won’t need it.
THE HYDROLLEY THE HYDROLLEY DIFFERENCEDIFFERENCE
• on-board fuel cells eliminate the need for overhead power, leaving utility plant “buried in peace.”
• no poles, catenaries or guy wires
• no substations
• no complex grounding
• much less exposure to rising copper prices
HYDROLLEY ADVANTAGES:HYDROLLEY ADVANTAGES:
• Avoids US$1.5 - 2 million capital investment per mile of track by eliminating track electrification.
• Avoids interference problems when tall equipment like cranes must be moved around the city.
• Eliminates the maintenance costs, shock hazards, weather and security vulnerability of overhead power systems.
MORE STREETCARS,MORE STREETCARS,SOONER:SOONER:
• Substantially reduced fixed plant cost “lowers the funding bar.”
• The hydrolley’s clean, hi-tech verve can attract young and Green ridership.
• If cities now planning streetcar systems make common cause together, R&D and manufacturing can proceed more rapidly.
HISTORY FORCES THE ISSUEHISTORY FORCES THE ISSUE::• Once the first hydrolley is deployed
anywhere, catenary plant and trolley rolling stock sources may begin to dry-up.
• Like the steam -to-diesel transition, change tends to strand the last old-tech investment, undepreciated and short-lived.
• Needed: a reasoned, generally accepted, hydrolley introduction plan and national policies.
THE NATURE OF TECHNOLOGY CHANGE: TRANSITION IS A
DANGEROUS, AMBIGUOUS TIME.
AT SOME POINT, THE REAL FINANCIAL RISK OF HESITATING IS GREATER THAN THE RISK OF
INNOVATING, BUT SEEMS LESS SCARY.
“It seemed like a good idea...
... at the time.”National Railway Museum, York, UK
SOME PENALTIES SOME PENALTIES OF HYDROLLEY LINES:OF HYDROLLEY LINES:
• Requires a fueling infrastructure not needed by overhead trolleys.
• Carries on-board fuel, makes fueling stops, fueling requires some labor.
• The regulatory world is geared to heritage trolley technology.
• The Hindenburg myth refuses to die.
HYDROLLEY UNKNOWNS:HYDROLLEY UNKNOWNS:
• Can present electrified rail lines be extended without catenaries by adding hydrolley equipment or developing double power systems (trolley in town, hydrolley beyond)?
• Can abandoned freight spurs economically become hydrolley lines, where electrification would have been cost-prohibitive?
VEHICLE OPTIONS:VEHICLE OPTIONS:
• New-from-the-ground-up hydrolleys (the Mooresville, NC, USA Proterra product as contemplated)
• Heritage retrofit to hydrolley tech (pioneered in Surrey, BC, CA)
• Heritage replica hydrolleys designed new around hydrail technology; produced and parts-supported in volume for the charm factor.
• Mixed fleet: heritage and modern equipment on same line.
SOME ANTICIPATED SOME ANTICIPATED HYDROLLEY APPLICATIONSHYDROLLEY APPLICATIONS
(AS PROPOSED FOR CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, USA)
JOIN THE WORLD HYDROLLEY CONVERSATION:
for general hydrail information, including hydrolleys:
Stan Thompson - Hydrogen Economy Advancement Team
518 Beaten Path Road, Mooresville, NC, 28117-8982 USA
h/o: +704 664-5486 cellular: +704 458-9410
email: [email protected]
for technical information on hydrolley applications:
Dale Hill, CEO Proterra LLC, Golden, Colorado, USA
+303 562-0525
email: [email protected]