Gulf Construction Online - Alstom shaping region’s mobility landscape

Environmental Protection

Hesop captures more than 99 per cent of recoverable braking energy, reinjecting it into the power network for reusing it in station facilities such as escalators and lighting.

Environmental Protection

Alstom shaping region’s mobility landscape

01 December 2020

Alstom, a global leader in rail transport and sustainable mobility, is working closely with many of the Middle East’s transportation authorities to shape the future of the region’s mass transit and mobility network, deploying its greener and smarter sustainable solutions.
Through its innovations in electric transport and hydrogen fuel, Alstom remains dedicated to significantly cutting emissions, minimising land use and decarbonising rail transport and ensuring that most advanced and sustainable technologies are in place to safeguard the health, wellbeing and mobility of communities across the region.
One such innovation is the implementation of Hesop (Harmonic Energy Saver Optimiser), which recovers the electrical energy generated by trains during braking. The technology has been deployed at The Dubai Route 2020 Metro, the world’s fastest-built turnkey driverless metro project.
In addition to reducing operational costs, the ‘gamechanger’ technology will cut about 3 million kg of carbon emissions and bring down power consumption by 6.6 million KW per annum.

Sougoufara ... Alstom plays an integral role in improving the environmental performance of rail.

The Dubai Route 2020 Metro includes eco-friendly trains equipped with full electrical braking systems, LED lighting and innovations to reduce energy consumption.
“This project provides a host of sustainability benefits, including the easing of traffic congestion, which in turn will reduce 100,000 tonnes of carbon emissions by 2022, increasing to 170,000 tonnes by 2030,” Mama Sougoufara, the Managing Director of Alstom Middle East, tells Gulf Construction.
As a long-standing partner of the region’s transportation and mobility development, Alstom continues to play an integral role in improving the environmental performance of rail across the region, Sougoufara says.
“Hesop is one of the great demonstrations of this as an advanced reversible power substation, which both supplies traction voltage to a network and recovers braking energy from vehicles. It can be used to retrofit existing systems or built into new networks,” he explains.
“Alstom has established itself as a global driver of innovation towards carbon neutrality in rail transport, with a huge focus on greener and smarter mobility solutions. Our expertise in energy comes fully into play in Hesop’s key characteristics.
“Its dynamic voltage regulation adapts the power supply to the network’s requirements; this means that if traffic increases, power can be scaled up without changing infrastructure,” he adds.
On its unique selling point, Sougoufara says Hesop captures more than 99 per cent of recoverable braking energy, reinjecting it into the power network for reusing it in station facilities such as escalators, lighting and ventilation.
“It allows for a reduction in operational costs and 100 per cent electricity supply renewability. Additionally, it contributes to our sustainability goals by cutting carbon emissions and reducing heat dissipation on trains, meaning that less air-conditioning and ventilation is required in metro tunnels and stations,” explains Sougoufara.
Alstom’s focus on sustainable energy had brought green solutions to the forefront of the industry’s attention. It has already developed breakthrough innovations in recent years, from the Coradia iLint (the first zero-emission, hydrogen fuel-cell powered train in Germany) to Aptis (the 100 per cent electric bus) and SRS (a ground-charging solution for all e-buses.)
“We have also received an order for 11 battery-powered regional trains from Zweckverband Verkehrsverbund Mittelsachsen (VMS) in Germany – a first for Alstom. Offering both hydrogen and battery solutions represents an important milestone for the company, as it further proves our central role on the emission-free mobility market,” he adds.

Route 2020 includes eco-friendly trains equipped with full electrical braking systems, LED lighting and innovations to reduce energy consumption.

Buoyed by its tremendous success worldwide, Alstom is in talks with its partners to deploy its smart mobility solution, Mastria, across the Mena region to help them maximise fluidity between all the means of transportation in a city and to orchestrate passenger routes.
“Thanks to the application of advance data analytics, it can predict and anticipate possible incidents, in order to improve mobility management within the city. Mastria has been successfully tested in Panama City and Spain. Mastria has also a declination dedicated to passenger flow management for operation under Covid-19 context for social distancing monitoring,” explains the top official, adding that this feature is also being tested in Montreal and Barcelona.
Pointing out that it has optimised energy consumption and operational performance through energy-efficient solutions, Alstom says its use of classified eco-design and manufacturing had resulted in 36 per cent of on-site electricity consumption coming from renewable sources.
On the changing Mideast mobility landscape, Sougoufara says: “Due to the global shift towards renewable energy to reverse the adverse effects of climate change, I see rail transport spearheading a positive, sustainable change in the Middle East.
“Governments in the GCC have significantly invested in the expansion of infrastructure for rail transport systems as the countries’ leaders continue to reaffirm their commitment to the growth and innovation of sustainable mobility solutions.”
“For example, in Dubai, the Route 2020 projects will ease traffic congestion by 25 per cent, as well as economically cut costs related to traffic congestion by an estimated Dh3.5 billion ($953 million) in 2022 and Dh7 billion in 2030. I believe that by developing and utilising brand-new infrastructure and rolling stock, combined with an even larger investment in renewable energy, the Middle East can continue to emerge as a leader in sustainable mobility,” he notes.
On the key challenges for governments in achieving efficient transport and sustainability amid the population boom, Sougoufara says the only way out is for the countries to continue to prioritise the development of smarter and greener mobility solutions, while investing in the advancement and expansion of integrated transport infrastructure.
“In doing so, they can ensure economic viability, efficiency and sustainability is safeguarded, while still progressively increasing the amount of mobility services available to cater to the evolving needs and strong demands of their populations,” he points out.
Alstom employs many innovations such as Aptis, SRS, and APS which contribute to road electro-mobility, all of which boost sustainability of mass transportation in urban cities, he adds.
On its commitment to carbon neutrality in transport, Sougoufara says through the green traction, there has been a 20 per cent cut in train energy consumption and traction maintenance costs (up to 12 per cent), which has also increased by 10 per cent in reliability.
“Moreover, we have optimised energy consumption and operational performance through energy-efficient solutions and the use of classified eco-design and manufacturing, resulting in 36 per cent of on-site electricity consumption coming from renewable sources.
Alstom has other new technology development axes like autonomous mobility on rail and on road. “We have been delivering driverless metros for decades and are now moving into having the trains and mobiles capable to safely perceive their changing environment and reacting accordingly. Combining intelligence at vehicle level with smartness at infrastructure level is the way to bring autonomous pubic mobility to reality in the short term,” he notes.
On the future trends, Sougoufara says: “In the post-Covid world, safety and hygiene will be at the root of public concerns when it comes to travel and mobility, with commuters seeking reassurance that their health and wellbeing will be a top priority.
“Hence, the transport sector must proactively seek to alleviate these health concerns by investing more into the development of health and wellbeing mobility initiatives, as well as coordinating with globally-recognised authorities to provide innovative hygiene, health and safety solutions.”
In addition to developing innovative solutions to protect the commuters, passenger density management in transport spaces and other complementary solutions focused on virucidal improvement must be implemented, as we go through this sanitary crisis.
“At Alstom, for example, we have brought together our expertise and resources across all technical domains, while coordinating with global professionals to present a comprehensive and validated portfolio of innovative hygiene, health and safety solutions to curb the spread of the virus, both in the air and on surfaces, “he explains.
The portfolio consists of ready-to-action and in-development solutions aimed at preserving the health of passengers and employees, limiting the impact on environment and energy consumption and maintaining equipment reliability, he adds.
Alstom will continue to play an integral role in improving the environmental performance of rail across the region while at the same time achieving its ‘green’ goals, says Sougoufara.
“We place a huge focus on greener and smarter mobility solutions as is evident from our regional successes – including the Dubai Route 2020 and the implementation of Hesop technology.
“Also, we are the first railway manufacturers to commit to science-based targets launched by WWF, UN Global Compact, CDP, and World Resources Institute, actively participating in initiatives pertaining to environmental excellence such as the UN Global Compact, One Planet Summit, Transport Decarbonisation Alliance and Hydrogen Council,” he adds.

– By R Sushil Nair