Track to Zero

Completed

Energy Efficiency(Transport)
Other Power and Storage Technologies(Electricity transmission and distribution)

Applied Research and Development

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Electrical and Electronic Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting

Project Contact
National Grid Electricity Transmission

Network Innovation Allowance

Ofgem

01 March 2024

31 March 2025

ENA months

£200,000

Power

London

Network Innovation Allowance

Project Contact, National Grid Electricity Transmission

R&D has been selected as the approach for this project as it enables the investigation of innovative solutions for railway decarbonisation. Further research will enable the exploration of solutions such as battery storage and renewable energy integration which are essential for achieving 2030, 2040 and 2050 Net Zero targets. This approach also enables a holistic assessment of requirements by providing tools (e.g. simulations) to better understand the interactions between railway electrification and existing grid infrastructure, ensuring the design of cost-effective and sustainable network upgrades. This project will also dedicate research into the costs, benefits and trade-offs associated with the proposed decarbonisation strategy. As such, risks can be identified early and TNOs can make more strategic decisions on the future infrastructure requirements.Data Quality Statement (DQS):?The project will be delivered under the NIA framework in line with OFGEM, ENA and NGGT / NGET internal policy. Data produced as part of this project will be subject to quality assurance to ensure that the information produced with each deliverable is accurate to the best of our knowledge and sources of information are appropriately documented. All deliverables and project outputs will be stored on our internal sharepoint platform ensuring access control, backup and version management. Relevant project documentation and reports will also be made available on the ENA Smarter Networks Portal and dissemination material will be shared with the relevant stakeholders.Measurement Quality Statement (MQS): ?The methodology used in this project will be subject to our suppliers own quality assurance regime. Quality assurance processes and the source of data, measurement processes and equipment as well as data processing will be clearly documented and verifiable. The measurements, designs and economic assessments will also be clearly documented in the relevant deliverables and final project report and will be made available for review. The scope of the project will be to quantify the transmission network requirements for railway electrification/decarbonization. This will be achieved through close collaboration with Network Rail to identify the current locations and capacity of conventional feeder stations before identifying the locations of future conventional feeder stations based on the Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy (TDNS). The aggregate power capacity requirements will be quantified, and abase case cost analysis will be carried out to determine the financial implications of conventional railway electrification.The project will introduce the battery hub concept in the second work package, which serves to determine the optimal combination of Energy Storage Hubs and traditional feeder stations to electrify/decarbonize railway. Energy Hubs will be sited according to voltage support requirements and power capacity requirements. The third work package will assess the cost implications of deploying the Energy Storage Hub based on findings from the second work package and assess it against the benefits delivered to the electricity sector, railway sector and end-consumers. Other benefits will also be identified such as potential wind curtailment reductions and flexibility service benefit. The objective of this project is to determine the potential of battery storage technology (i.e. Energy Storage Hubs) to operate as railway trackside storage in the transition to100% railway electrification/decarbonization and provide whole system benefits to the railway sector, electricity sector and end-consumers.

Track to Zero aims to assess the impact of 100% railway electrification on the transmission network across England and Wales, identifying existing and future congestion points. A key focus is exploring a novel battery storage solution to support railway electrification, potentially deferring or reducing the need for traditional railway feeder stations. By integrating energy storage, the project will evaluate grid flexibility, cost implications and network efficiency. A comparative cost analysis will be conducted, examining electrification costs before and after battery deployment. Findings will provide insights into grid constraints, cost savings and decarbonisation pathways, supporting efficient railway electrification while minimizing network stress. The learnings will inform all Network Licensees across GB as well as Network Rail on optimal investment strategies for a sustainable rail network.

09/04/25