The Australian Fortescue Metals Group mining company has acquired the Williams Advanced Engineering British technology company.  Their first project will be the "perpetual motion train": an ore carrier for the deserts of Western Australia.  It will transport iron ore from the mine to the processing plant.

The diesel in the locomotive has been replaced by electric batteries. Normally, such batteries would not be able to handle the heavy loads they have to carry and would require constant recharging.  In this case, the engineers applied an innovative recuperation method: the train consumes energy when moving uphill, but replenishes it in the downward direction.

Despite the name, the Infinity Train (“Eternal Train”) does not have a “perpetual motion machine”: recharging is done at the point of departure. However, it was the recuperation that made it possible to increase the distance to a record 143 km without intermediate recharging.

The work is being carried out as part of the zero emissions by 2030 goal that Fortescue has taken on.

Source: National Geographic

Image: Fossbytes