US team delivers open-source rail freight decarbonisation tool

ALTRIOS, the Advanced Locomotive Technology and Rail Infrastructure Optimisation System, was developed by a multi-partner consortium made up of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign RailTec, and BNSF Railway.

The open-source software provides a physics-based simulation of individual trains and real-world rail infrastructure to assess various decarbonisation technologies including hydrogen, biofuels and batteries. According to SwRI, ALTRIOS can simulate the real-world impacts and expenses related to adopting alternative propulsion technologies as well as the additional infrastructure associated with them.

“The Class-I North American railroads have already committed to reducing their GHG emissions by setting science-based carbon reduction targets,” said Garrett Anderson, a lead engineer in SwRI’s Powertrain Engineering Division. “Railroads are using fuel efficiency, renewable fuels and alternate propulsion approaches to achieve the goal. ALTRIOS can cost-effectively assess locomotive decarbonisation approaches using computer modelling to help them choose the right technologies for their needs.”