Innowattech has performed a project with the National Railway Company of Israel. The project’s purpose was to examine the new development based on Innowattech’s technology- Innowattech’s rail pad – IPEG PAD. The solution is related to the smart rail field.
The test included the replacement of 32 existing railway pads with the company’s IPEG PADs, which feature piezoelectric generators designed to produce electricity for local solutions. The pads harvest mechanical strain and convert it to electrical power, which can be used to determine the number of wheels, weight of each wheel and the wheel’s position. In addition the speed of the train and the wheel diameter can also be calculated.
Preliminary results last year with Technion University and Israel Railways suggest that areas of railway track that get between 10 and 20 ten-car trains an hour, can produce 120 kwh per hour. This is electricity that could be used on the railway itself, or to power the signaling, measure the speed and weight of trains, as well as to transfer it to the grid.
