Public Funding for E.P.S. (UK) Limited

It has recently been announced that the UK Government will spend £9.4bn on railways across England and Wales, particularly on electrification projects [www://railwaytechnology. com/news 15/01/2013]. 2,900m of new 25kV lines will be commissioned, including the refurbishment of East Coast and West Coast Mainlines and new freight lines running up the centre of England from Southampton. All of these lines will require new switchgear installations. Additionally, in November 2012 Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) - an inorganic greenhouse gas used for high voltage circuit breakers in switchgear - was banned for all new switchgear installations in the rail industry. SF6 has been the dominant solution for circuit breakers on space constrained rail tracks for many years, and this ban will catalyse major change in the industry. EPS wish to develop a new product which will offer a solution by developing a smaller, safer and cheaper alternative offering significant improvements over current products, which is timely both in terms of the SF6 ban, and the major investment in new railway infrastructure, detailed in the next section. Our innovation will be significantly smaller and more compact than current offerings, will be inherently safe for operators, and will operate much more efficiently thereby reduced wear and tear on parts and requiring less maintenance.