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SunTrain transfer trainloads of power in only 2 - 4 hours
During the heyday of coal power in America, the freight railroads were referred to as rolling conveyor belts. Over 800 daily coal trains moved between 9000 coal mines and 1800 coal power plants. These megaproject logistics still exist and SunTrain will repurpose the stranded coal assets of yesteryear to haul fleets of battery trains to alleviate the growing energy crisis.
The benefit of our battery trains comes from our grid-ready electrons. All railcars discharge simultaneously and directly to the grid or behind-the-meter loads in as little as two hours.
How We Deliver Energy
Energy from distant generation assets use SunTrain equipment to charge custom, iron phosphate batteries integrated to railcars. The railcars are hauled by railroads as unit trains over the existing freight networks. Upon arriving at a destination, SunTrain's patented and automated discharge equipment, which vastly reduces ongoing operation expenses, is used to deploy the power.
The railhead hosting SunTrain's railcars can be miles away from the generator or the electrical load. Once the energy is off the battery train, the energy can be routed through a gen-tie cable and discharge voltage can be configured as high as 34,500 VAC.
Charging/Discharging Equipment
DC System - Equipment Demonstration
DC Charging/Discharging System
Gen.2 Equipment Demonstration
AC Charging/Discharging System
SunTrain has two distinct charging/discharging systems that are both ready for their first deployments into the field.
Benefits of Trainsmission
Trainsmission is a key tool in a just energy transition that relieves the impacts of carbon emissions on nearby communities.
It is an innovative solution for workforce transition in the coal sector for both electric utilities and railroad operators. It “repowers” coal unit trains with batteries charged by clean energy while at the same time avoids the challenges of building new electric transmission. This could help accelerate the energy transition and provide a solution for workers facing uncertain futures otherwise.
In dense urban areas spikes in energy demand are covered by natural gas peakers. The SunTrain batteries are mobile peakers. They are charged from zero emission generation sources and moved to an urban area to replace the use of a natural gas peaker.
SunTrain can also deliver lower prices. Solar and wind have levelized costs of energy which are approximately half that of natural gas peakers and one-third that of coal-fired power. Even with capital and operating expenses, SunTrain power can be cheaper than grid power during high-cost windows such as 4-9 p.m.
Resiliency of energy delivery is also enhanced by using a completely different network, the existing rail network, for delivery of energy. As an example, if a local grid fails due to extreme weather or other natural disasters, a SunTrain with more than a GWh of energy could be dispatched to reboot the grid.
It creates an entirely new tool for utility operators to optimize grid operations and relieve unexpected congestion over time by changing SunTrain discharge destinations between substations with excess renewable supply and those that would otherwise be capacity constrained.