Public Funding for Eminox Limited

**ZERRCI -- Zero Emissions Repowering of Railway Construction Infrastructure** Eminox, HS2 and SCS Railways propose a solution for the delivery of a low emissions, greener railway. Our solution covers the development of an electric motor and battery system, which can be retrofitted into existing construction equipment, replacing the traditional diesel engine with a quieter, cleaner, zero emissions drivetrain. These pieces of plant and equipment will be used as direct replacements for diesel machines in the constructing and maintaining railway infrastructure. Eminox is leading this project with its experience in providing cost effective retrofit emissions solutions and together with HS2 and SCS JV will be involved in demonstrating the first repowered construction equipment in a real-world rail infrastructure environment. This proposed venture has been instigated by HS2 in line with their ambition as set out in their Net Zero Carbon plan for diesel free construction sites by 2029\. As the solution will extend the life expectancy of the machine, it will contribute to HS2's vision of net-zero by 2035\. This solution will offer a more cost-effective route to zero emissions construction compared to purchasing similar new electric powered equipment by extending the life expectancy of existing plant and machinery. With a target of 50% the price of purchasing new excavators it is expected to incentivise the broader uptake of demand in electric plant and equipment at scale across the industry supply chain Phase 1 of this project aims to deliver a proposal for a prototype zero-emissions excavator. By performing a feasibility study on the conversion principals, we intend to extract a broad understanding of the challenges associated with integration and develop an optimised battery and motor system specification. Phase 2 will involve the conversion, commissioning and delivery of a repowered excavator, and subsequent in-service validation. By using this converted machine to conduct initial trials, it will be proven that no machine functionality or safety features have been compromised during conversion, and we will establish power storage requirements to provide adequate duty cycle performance. This will result in a fully proven demonstrator with real-world validation enabling further development of optimised battery solutions.

This project is focussed on the development of a Magnetic Continuously Variable Transmission (mCVT) system that is optimised for automotive ancillary drive applications. CVT systems have benefits in hybrid vehicle drive trains where they are used to ensure that the engine is always operating at maximum efficiency. By exploiting this flexibility, significant fuel/emissions benefits can be achieved. mCVTs can also be used to drive ancillaries (e.g. air-conditioning (AC) compressors, pumps, etc). In such applications the mCVT fits onto the engine belt driving the ancillary with engine power, but at an optimum speed, independent of engine speed. By doing this the AC compressor can be operated at the speed required by the cooling requirements, rather than that dictated by the engine speed via a fixed ratio. This leads to significant reduction in engine parasitic loss with consequent benefits in terms of CO2 and fuel consumption. The flexibility of the system can be extended to give AC function even when the engine is off. This important feature allows continued AC while the engine stop/start feature is enabled, preventing the driver from disabling the system to maintain AC and thereby negating all fuel and emissions benefits provided. Furthermore, the engine-off function allows the system to act as a "parking cooler" for commercial vehicles, deleting the secondary cooling loop on the roof of the cabin. Magnomatics is developing a much larger, main powertrain, mCVT system for hybrid vehicles. This ongoing development of the main powertrain system is being used to accelerate this smaller spin-off product where knowledge will be transferred to the technical development. A key differentiator for this system is that in order to be competitive it must have reduced cost and therefore function. This is achieved by combining two electrical machines present in the existing Magnomatics mCVT systems into a single unit using innovative magnetic field superposition techniques. This is a patent pending key innovation, which provides a more compact, more efficient, simpler and cheaper machine than any competing power-split system. This project will provide a working, tested prototype. The system will be vehicle fit ready for evaluation on a fleet of buses that are currently awaiting retro-fitment of emissions reduction technology by Eminox. Ultimately the entire project will see the UK manufacture and retro-fitment of the systems, with export opportunities (thousands off) to an existing transport provider already being established.

This project brings together a consortium to improve the performance, autonomy and efficiency of the New Holland concept gas tractor in order to overcome significant technical challenges and bring it to a point of comparison with conventional diesel powered tractors at a commercially viable cost. The tractor is to be as close to a diesel as possible in terms of physical appearance and performance so as to be a realistic option. The main objective being to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of tractors used on farm and within the wider community, such as municipal use. As there is a great demand for carbon neutralisation and high pressure on farmers to be environmentally friendly, this tractor would be a route to achieve this. The link with Anaerobic Digestion plants (and the potential for energy independent farms) provides a further significant environmental impact opportunity.