EIC will draw on its international energy innovation community to improve the reliability of Network Rail’s electrical infrastructure
The EIC has announced a new collaboration with Network Rail which will see it support the rail company in continuing to deliver reliable and sustainable power to its infrastructure.
Drawing on its international innovation community, and in-house technical experience of working with the UK’s energy networks, the EIC will support Network Rail in finding and exploring a range of solutions that will help improve the reliability of its electrical network.
In particular, the rail company hopes to discover innovative solutions for monitoring the condition of Uninterruptible Power Supply Systems, which are essential to ensuring the continued availability of critical power supplies, such as signalling power, in the event of a Distribution Network Operator (DNO) power supply outage.
To deliver the project, EIC will draw on the knowledge and insight of its global innovation community along with its experience of working with the UK’s biggest energy networks. Among its innovator community are a number of specialist electrical and railway engineers who will be called upon for key recommendations.
Matthieu Michel, Operations Director at EIC, commented:
“Supporting the rail sector is a natural next step for the EIC. We will be playing a vital role in connecting Network Rail with a global community of innovators who will support it in enhancing its electrical network performance for the future. Having run similar collaborations with some of the UK’s biggest energy networks and water companies, we are really excited to have the opportunity to share our knowledge with another vital UK industry. Facilitating the discovery and development of innovative ideas is what we do best, and this high impact project will allow us to demonstrate this.”
Mark Gaddes, R&D Project Manager at Network Rail, said:
“We’re continually looking for ways to transform and innovate within our rail network – with the aim of staying ahead of future demands. EIC has a wealth of experience and vital connections with innovators and utilities from the energy sector whose experience will be critical in helping us to achieve our goals. We look forward to working with the EIC and investigating other collaborations with energy and water companies.”
Commenting on the latest EIC collaboration, James Yu, Future Networks Manager at Scottish Power said:
“As an existing partner of EIC, we are a firm believer in the benefits of cross-sector collaboration and its ability to generate truly meaningful innovation that can move industries forward. The EIC’s latest collaboration with Network Rail is no exception. It will present many opportunities for us to share our knowledge and insight in order to benefit both customers and colleagues.”.
This initial collaboration between Network Rail and the EIC started in December, will run until June 2020.
