ST. LOUIS – Intramotev, which retrofits freight cars with autonomous, self-propelled battery electric technology, today announced a partnership with global mining company Carmeuse Americas to deploy its TugVolt cars at a limestone mine in Cedarville, Mich.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better partner to deploy our technology in Michigan than Carmeuse,” Intramotev CEO Tim Luchini said in a statement. “For over 160 years, Carmeuse has been on the frontlines of innovation, and we’re thrilled to partner with them to cut emissions, save fuel costs, and keep their workers safe.”
With support from the Michigan Mobility Funding Program, Intramotev will deploy three TugVolt battery electric railcars at a Carmeuse Americas mining site in Cedarville, on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, to support a new railway that will carry one six-car train of ore per hour. It will be the first real-world operational deployment of a battery-electric freight railcar capable of operating without a locomotive pulling it. It will also be one of the largest scale implementations of industrial robots.
The deployment is estimated to eliminate up to 55,000 gallons of diesel consumption and 617 tons of vehicle-level CO2 emissions.
“We’re excited to partner with Intramotev to deploy their TugVolt technology,” said Jeff Bittner, the mining company’s senior vice president of operations. “This partnership represents an incredible opportunity to increase our efficiency, decrease our carbon footprint, and keep our workers safe and focused on what they do best through adoption of emerging digital technologies. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.”
Railroads that are isolated from the national, common carrier rail network do not fall under Federal Railroad Administration regulations and therefore can operate autonomous equipment without having to clear regulatory hurdles.
Intramotev’s ReVolt car has run more than 1,000 miles making trips between Iron Senergy’s Cumberland Mine in Waynesburg, Pa., and its Alicia Harbor barge loading terminal on the Ohio River.
“Railroads that are isolated from the national, common carrier rail network do not fall under Federal Railroad Administration regulations and therefore can operate autonomous equipment without having to clear regulatory hurdles.”
That begs the question if the MI mine is still physically connected to a common carrier as a “private siding”, so they can still readily connect for rolling stock deliveries and major repairs??? Or is the MI mine RR totally landlocked like that northern AZ, Black Mesa and Lake Powell electric coal mining RR used to be???
Yes, yes yes, more “Geen” stuff, that’s what we need. Bully, bully. For goodness sake, we must ignore reality and the man behind the curtain, Sure, sure, sure these freight cars ain’t being pulled by smelly diesels with NOx, SOx, and other nasty emissions. Yet, one may ask (if one has a sentient brain), where/how is the erecrticity generated to power these wunder-kars?
Solar? Wind? Hydro?
I think not, likely yet another example of coal-fired, nat gas-fired, Nuke-powered “geen power”
It’s really SAD, how ignant most people in America be
Just SAD
As a foamer, former Michigander, and graduate of MTU I must admit my complete and utter shame in myself for never being aware this operation existed until today. All those decades that I thought there was nearly nothing for rail operations east of I-75 in the UP. Sad. So Sad.