USA: The American start-up has showcased the first flatcar converted to battery traction. The presentation took place at the company’s St. Louis facility.
The video demonstrates how the TugVolt flatcar, loaded with two 40-foot containers, is coupling with and hauling a covered wagon. The operation is guided with a help of a remote control.
The TugVolt retrofitting technology has been developed to provide first and last mile services. One such flatcar is reported to be able to haul up to five freight cars on a flat terrain. Later this year, the TugVolt hopper wagons are planned to be put in operation at a mining site in Northern Michigan.
Review of the TugVolt autonomous flatcar. Source: Intramotev
As of August, the total mileage of the three battery-electric hopper wagons, retrofitted with Intramotev’s ReVolt kit, exceeded 8,000 km. In contrast to the TugVolt, the ReVolt wagon is not autonomous. Its mission is to provide additional traction capturing energy from regenerative braking, and thus reducing a locomotive’s diesel consumption. In August, Intramotev received $14.4 mln from ten investment companies to further develop the TugVolt and ReVolt technologies.
