(25/01/2012)  The system will enable the installation of more than a thousand electric car battery charge points at train stations. These will harness the energy of electrical substations, which feed the catenary, energy recovered from the braking trains and solar photovoltaic energy generated by state-of-the-art solar modules manufactured by Isofoton at its Malaga facility. The modules will be located on parking lot roofs in order to feed the battery charging equipment for electric vehicles from the catenary, thanks to an electrical storage system which will distribute the energy using utility poles.

The system designed by the rail infrastructure administrator is a global pioneer project in the technological area of research in sustainability and energy efficiency.

‘Ferrolinera Adif’ is being developed at Adif’s Railway Technology Centre in Malaga. Other entities including Acisa, Andel, Windinertia, Green Power, Isofoton, the Andalusian Institute of Technology and the universities of Seville, Malaga and Jaen are also participating in the project.

Commercialization

The project allows charge points to be installed along the 13,000-km Spanish railway network, which features more than 1,500 stations and other potential installation sites.

The railway network stands to become the greatest network of electric vehicle recharge points in Spain. The Ferrolinera project will also allow the development of a more optimized and intelligent system to manage train brake energy as a function of traffic and railway network electrical power.

As regards its international commercialization, Adif and Isofoton aim to expand internationally by introducing the system in countries showing strong support for renewable energy and consolidated railway systems such as China and Japan, where initial commercial contacts have already proved successful.