Decarbonizing Rail: Zero-Emissions Train Project 

 

We are pursuing development of a unique, battery-powered  rail  locomotive  for  freight  transportation.  The battery we have selected for this project has high nominal energy density.

 

The United States has about  95,000 route miles of track in operation and  26,000 Class One diesel locomotives. All these locomotives operate on diesel fuel.  The only electrified lines are in the Northeast  Corridor and these are used for passenger trains. There currently is no direct way to reduce diesel use for freight  rail.

 

Our technology development is led by  Prof. Thomas  Zawodzinski, Governor’s  Chair  in  Electrical  Energy Conversion and Storage,  with appointments in Chemical  and  Biomolecular  Engineering at University of Tennessee-Knoxville and Oak Ridge National  Laboratory. 

 

Possible prototype test sites include one of the nation’s most important cargo ports, in order to reduce pollution and truck traffic between the port and two inland ports, and NCI’s project property in Upstate New York.