#3 Back to the future: NEVOMO´s way to rethink rail

About Stefan Kirch Stefan is the Chief Business Development Officer and (late) Co-Founder of Nevomo, a rail tech company located in Warsaw. He joined Nevomo in late 2021 after working for more than a decade for Deutsche Bahn in various functions, with a strong focus on infrastructure. He led the sales department of DB-Netze and was an intrapreneur, founding FlexRail within Deutsche Bahn. He studied European Law and Business Administration at Julius Maximilian University in Würzburg Germany. About Nevomo Nevomo is a European deep-tech company that develops the next generation of high-speed railways, aiming to improve inefficient legacy infrastructure and take it to the next level. As a leading player in innovation in the sustainable and intelligent mobility industry, the company has developed the globally unique MagRail technology, allowing automation, electrification, and full digitalization of existing rail transportation systems. Nevomo is the first company in the world to propose a phased implementation of transportation systems inspired by the hyperloop concept by upgrading railway lines. The company intends to revolutionize railway transport, achieving speeds of up to 550 kph by equipping existing infrastructure with magnetic levitation and linear motor technology. Furthermore, the MagRail product portfolio includes the MagRail booster, allowing for a quick retrofit of existing railcars to enable linear motor propulsion. www.nevomo.tech Key Takeaways Trucks on highways in Europe currently have a higher spare capacity than the volume being transported by rail. This raises the question of whether rail freight could be entirely replaced by additional trucks on the road in a hypothetical scenario. Considering the rapid advancements in AI, platforms, and connectivity, more readily integrated into road transportation, this hypothetical scenario highlights a potential risk for the rail industry. If road transportation proves cheaper, more flexible, and environmentally friendly once trucks are green, one might question the rationale for investing in rail. This shift is likely to occur within the next decade. While there may be a political push to support rail, the rail ecosystem needs significant innovation within the coming decade, not later! It's essential to recall the challenges associated with railway projects in Europe, where infrastructure projects took over 20 years to materialize. Even with substantial investment, overcoming this time gap remains a formidable challenge. Infrastructure managers must focus on increasing capacity due to the growing demand from passengers and the anticipated shift in transportation preferences. Nevomo's approach involves upgrading the existing infrastructure with innovative technologies such as linear motors and passive magnetic levitation systems, which are faster and more cost-effective. Nevomo's mix-and-match approach allows for combining various upgrades on a single corridor. These upgrades are designed to be backward compatible, enabling specific sections to be enhanced with linear motors for increased capacity through faster acceleration and braking or the replacement of traditional engines. The recently tested “booster” technology of Nevomo could provide a significant capacity increase in the near future, especially for steep ramps or sections without electricity. The implementation of new technologies depends on the required speed: Level 1 up to 250 km/hour → conventional railway, Level 1+ → upgrade with selective sections with linear motors, Level 2 up to 550 km/hour → Maglev Systems, Level 3 up to 1,200 km/hour → Hyperloop. Very energy-efficient transportation using passive maglev technology starts at a speed of up to 250 km/hour, with the ability to lower speeds in sandy environments for reduced wear. The proper railway technologies depend on the speed, use cases, and implementation timeline. [email protected] www.railup.club