Fix wishing rail operators to avoid diesel

Daphne Langer has bold ambitions: Decarbanization of the railway industry for less than ten years.

How? Conducting US freight rail companies to move from diesel to battery batteries – part of the Langer business, which estimates Langer, can make their company, and take as much as $ 10 billion a year.

By 2030 the rail industry needs to reduce the emissions by 5% per year to reach zero goals, according to a 2023 report in 2023 International Energy Agency. Except Nature is energy.

Volts for calculating-essentially, sodium batteries on wheels-assigned to connect to existing car loans.

Persuade 80 billion US dollars railway industry The transition from the traditional and long reserved fossil fuel to renewable energy may seem difficult, but there are several reasons because Langer said she is confident in Voltify.

After advise several companies in the early stage in the climatic industry, Langer noticed two things that restricted their growth. “Most of them are counting on the subsidies of governments, and () the second (factor) is that they are counting on production and scaling, which simply does not exist today,” she said.

In an attempt to overcome these obstacles, Langer held meetings with hundreds of people in the energy and materials industry, seeking opportunities. When she first met her co -founder Aloon Kesseel, it was the moment of “Ding Ding”, she said.

Kessele knew the renewable energy market well by co -established DonralA firm that owns and manages dozens of solar energy in the US and Europe. He estimated that six largest freight rail companies in the US – including Union of the Pacific Ocean and CSX – Collectively spent more than $ 11 billion a year on diesel, a number checked CNBC. Eg Annual report.

Langer and Kesel saw the opportunity. What if they can convince large companies – known as class 1 railways – convert their steam train to diesel into battery power?

“Convertible six companies are not so difficult. And this ability to create such an impact with only six companies is huge,” Langer said. In the US, almost 140,000 miles of freight railways, most of the locomotives running on diesel as electrification of overhead.

Langer and Kesel founded Voltify in 2023 and started a meeting with railway companies. But they found original resistance. “There is a lot of skepticism because it is such a traditional industry, and work time and reliability are key,” Langer said. “We found out what would … fit into their schedule to fit into their operations without harming their efficiency.”

The biggest problem of the companies was the amount of time it may be required to charge the batteries, and this will always be the power supply. “Rail companies that were very stupid about it, (said)” Listen, we don’t care the energy source. We just need to make sure it’s always.

Thus, Vollify spent about a year, working on an algorithm that can predict the needs of train energy “in each route”,-said Langer, and the company also builds its first micro-microelectric microelectric microelectric microelect. “Our calculations indicate that the network of these micro -eats can end up eating all trains in North America,” Langer CNBC said in an email. Valivi estimates that you will need 1400 micosefires.

Langer said that “very active” talks with the three largest railway companies in North America, adding that this year he is ready to launch a demonstration project with a smaller railway company. In early 2026, Vollify also launched a pilot with a class 1 railway company, and Langer said it was “expected” to become a commercial deployment in a few months.

Valify is not the first company that came up with the idea of power trains with batteries. In 2019, a freight railway firm Wabtec Developed electrical steam train called FLXDrive, with the first trains will run in Australia after the Mine BHP Group was ordered. The company also checked its Battery-electric steam locomotive GE, and said in an e -mail CNBC that plans to check out and manage FLXDrive trains in the markets of North and South America.

According to Tim Bader, director of external and engineering communication, this technology can reduce diesel intake by 30%by 30%. “This advantage is crucial because the fuel is one of the main operating costs on the railway,” he said.

But as technology, there are problems such as the time of charge and battery capacity, as well as the “complex” business business, given the necessary investment in the infrastructure. “Like any new technology, these problems will decrease as the industry continues to explore and improve the battery power solutions,” Badder said.

According to Tobias Bauer, the acting director for passenger trains operating on passengers operating Siemens North America’s mobility, in the CNBC email. “Trains with batteries are a new and exciting rail market platform, in particular, when operators are looking for alternatives for non-electrified routes,” Bauer said.

Siemens Mobility has sold more than 400 diesel electric locomotives in North America, and in June launched its electric train, B+AC charger, selling 13 in New York Capital Transport and Metro Nuts.

The new steam locomotive attracts electricity from overhead wires and transfer to battery power as needed Internet release. While the locomotive range is currently up to 100 miles, Bauer said that it is expected to grow as battery technology is promoted.

In February, Siemens Mobility received an order from the Swiss truck-operator WIR WIR Rail Services for two Vectron lithium batteries that can be used to maneuver without the need for transmission lines. Asked about the potential of the cargo trains operating on the batteries, Bauer said: “The full transition to freight transportation will depend on the specifics of the route and charging, but the potential is.”

– Michael Wayland CNBC contributed to this report.