Smart system energy management solutions and future station solutions - S2R-CFM-IP3-01-2017

Date de clôture : 30 mars 2017  
APPEL À PROJET CLÔTURÉ

Specific Challenge: 

Within the challenges highlighted in the IP3 part of the S2R Master Plan, the delivering smart systems for energy management and enhancing the customer experience in stations share a lot of similar approaches. Achieving both of these goals would require physical changes and enhancements to occur within the railway subsystems. The dynamic nature of rail traffic implies that solutions must be adaptable, reacting readily to changing transport demand and emerging technologies; and operators and managers require real-time information to improve their decision making, both in terms of controlling passenger experience and sustainably using resources. 

Power supply systems for railways are feeding highly flexible loads, able to recuperate and moving through the network. These networks can be optimized with the methods and measures of smart grids. This covers the measurement, the control and the action insides the networks. Elements and methods to optimize this for railways are covered by this call. 

With regard to stations the challenge is to develop station design concepts optimising station management, creating cost effective solutions and technologies so they can be applied in a variety of scenarios. The primary ambition is for customer experience at stations to be significantly improved, increasing the number of customers that will use rail as their preferred transport mode. 

Scope: The proposals should address all the following elements, in line with the S2R MAAP: 

1. Smart Metering for Railway Systems (TD3.10) 

The objective of the Smart Metering Demonstrator is to achieve a fine mapping of different energy flows within the entire Railway System, as the basis of any energy management strategy is built on a detailed and clear knowledge of the dynamics of energy flows of both consumers and generators. The proposals shall address the following expected R&I activities: 

a. Railway System Smart Metering Demonstrator implementation and testing. 

 implementation studies and procedures for a Smart Metering System physical integration in both trackside and on-board; 

 on-site installation of sensors, gateways and telecommunications, as well as data processing software applications and data servers; 

 development of the Demonstrator Integrated Test Plan, functional test methods and procedures for Smart Metering components and sub-systems and conformity validation with the Technical Specifications. 

b. Development of technologies for Railway Smart Metering data acquisition and processing. 

 development of smart metering and data acquisition and transmission solutions, applicable both on board and at ground; 

 development of specific software applications for energy data acquisition, error correction, synchronization and aggregation. 

c. Development of Railway Systems Smart Metering user applications 

 development and demonstration of specific case studies based on collected data correlation and using advanced data processing algorithms for energy management decision making; 

 development of user applications linking the railway system physical modelling with data from measurements in order to allow better energy forecasting, better assets ROI evaluation, losses evaluation, etc. 

The proposal covering a, b and c is expected to provide a technology validated in relevant environment (TRL5). 

d. Technological assessment and railway certification preparation 

 investigations in view to ensure conformity with the European regulations(TSI compatibility), including improvement proposals regarding requirements and assessment methods, whenever applicable; 

 long and medium term technical and economic impact studies regarding a Smart Metering implementation in real railway environment. 

The activity is expected to provide certification preparative studies, impact assessments and evaluations (TRL3). 

2. Smart Power Supply (TD3.9) 

The proposals should address the R&I needed to develop and validate innovative control and protection system(s), which would allow additional signals, interfaces and parameters sets to interact with the feeding grid. In particular the R&I activities should comprise: 

a. control procedures and integration rules for implementation of elements of Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS)in 50 Hz-traction substations and capabilities for digital data processing and transfer established; 

b. virtual models and parameter sets for optimised use cases, including interfacings with 3 Phase power grids and train operation requirements, specified and tested within virtual demonstrators; 

c. active power equipment development to enable energy flow control and power balance in the rail power network together with the control system mentioned before. 

The activity is expected to provide specifications, evaluations and proof of concept under virtual conditions of a relevant implementation systems for the technologies (TRL 3-4) and a demonstration/validation in the relevant environment for control and protection concepts (TRL 5-6). 

3. Future Station Solutions (TD3.11) 

In this area, the R&I activities aim at optimising station management, creating cost effective solutions and developing technologies. The aim is for the customer experience at stations to be significantly improved, resulting in increased number of customers using railway. 

The proposal should address the following: 

a. crowd management in high capacity stations: the main deliverable will be a modelling tool that will enable congestion/emergency management, seamless end-to-end journey and improved accessibility. In this respect, the work should also deliver operational features and strategies. Deliverables will be validated through modelling of an existing station (corresponding to TRL5/TRL6); 

b. Improved Station Designs and Components: Develop standard designs for small stations that will enable low energy impact, use of sustainable materials and that will address the evolving needs of passengers. The design should also contribute to autonomous smart solutions that will support digital and web-based services. The activity should deliver a catalogue of specifications and design prototypes based on station components validated at TRL5 or possibly higher; 

c. Improved Accessibility to Trains: 

o New ticketing technologies to facilitate seamless journeys whilst maintaining revenue protection should be investigated. This should be analysed in cooperation with the activities of IP4, where the various technologies are expected to be identified; 

o Address issues related to Platform-Train Interface and improve ease-of-transfer and customer experience. This should be completed in collaboration with the activities under the complementary topics S2R-CFM-IP1-01-2017 and S2R-OC-IP3-02-2017. This work should deliver tested platform-train interface strategies, at TRL5/TRL6, for typical conditions in existing stations. 

d. Blast resistant Glass Specification for glass in stations: The work should aim at establishing a strategy for assessing risk of glass in case of explosions and the development of appropriate specifications where glass has to be used in areas of high risk. The relevant material and also relevant various models should be tested in laboratory (or outdoor explosion) environment at TRL4. 

The action that is expected to be funded under this topic will be complementary to the actions that are expected to be funded under the following topics: 

 S2R-OC-IP3-01-2017: Smart metering and asset management of railway systems ; 

 S2R-OC-IP3-02-2017: Future stations and accessibility; 

 S2R-CFM-IP1-01-2017: Development of new technological concepts towards the next generation of rolling stock, applied to major subsystems such as Carbody, Running Gear, Brakes, Doors and Modular interiors; 

 S2R-CFM-IP4-01-2015 – Shopping, booking and ticketing of multimodal travel solutions. 

As specified in section 2.3.1 of S2R AWP for 2017, in order to facilitate the contribution to the achievement of S2R objectives, the options regarding 'complementary grants' of the S2R Model Grant Agreement and the provisions therein, including with regard to additional access rights to background and results for the purposes of the complementary grant(s), will be enabled in the corresponding S2R Grant Agreements. 

The S2R JU will only fund one proposal under this topic. 

Expected Impacts: 

Actions should contribute to: 

 reduced LCC for the traction power supply system by up to 20% less equipment to install for same functionality and by up to 30% reduction of transmission losses for traction energy; 

 a reduction in asset deterioration through more robust and reliable products, procedures and processes; 

 improvements in passenger safety and their exposure to risks with improvements expected from new station designs; 

 optimized Return of Investment (RoI) allowing optimal investments and asset management; 

 increased power supply quality and optimized line capacity; 

 better identification of electric infrastructure losses; 

 detailed knowledge of energy flows and consumers behaviour inside the railway system; 

 energy profile provision improvement. Refined knowledge of the traffic disturbances consequences on system’s energy profiles; 

 better identification of auxiliary, maintenance facilities and stations energy consumption and of opportunities for savings. 

Specific metrics and methods to measure and achieve impacts should be included in the proposals, with the objective to achieve by the end of the S2R Programme the quantitative and qualitative targets defined in the S2R MAAP related to TD3.9, TD3.10 and TD3.11 in line with the relative Planning and Budget. 

Type of Action: Research and Innovation Actions