The DfT’s ‘First of a Kind 2022’ competition saw 24 projects receive a share of more than £5m, with grants of up to £400,000 each.
This year’s competition was focused on new concepts that will transform rail travel for passengers and help to decarbonise the network.
Echion Technologies submitted a successful project for developing batteries that will charge from overhead wires and use that charge to ‘leapfrog’ across unelectrified sections of track.
In 2020, diesel-powered UK trains began to be retrofitted with batteries to allow them to run on low-carbon electricity even on unelectrified rail lines.
Varamis – another project receiving funding – is working closely with DHL and Fedex to repurpose former passenger carriages to carry parcels across the UK. The firm said it wanted to capitalise on the online shopping boom by creating high-speed, non-letter delivery services.
Thales Ground Transportation Systems, which also received DfT backing, has developed...