RIA Announces Agenda for Unlocking Innovation Series on Decarbonisation

9 October 2020

The Railway Industry Association (RIA) have announced the agenda and speakers of their next Unlocking Innovation webinar series on Routes to Zero Carbon Rail, held in partnership with RSSB.

The series will cover key themes around decarbonisation over the four days of virtual events. The sessions will look at how the industry can accelerate electrification, how we can develop zero carbon rolling stock, sustainable maintenance and operations, and rail’s role in the wider push to reach net zero carbon emissions.

Confirmed speakers for the events include:

  • Helen McAlister, Richard Stainton & Janet Dunnett, Network Rail;
  • Mike Edwards, Motive Zero;
  • Jonathan Brown, Ricardo Rail;
  • Chris Smith, Gvolution;
  • Howard Lungley, Frazer Nash;
  • Matthew Candy, Steamology;
  • Andrew Kluth, Lead Carbon Specialist, RSSB;
  • Justin Moss, Siemens;
  • Russell Fowler, National Grid;
  • David Horsfall, Tyseley Energy Park;
  • David Golightly, Newcastle University;
  • Tim Harrison, Loughborough University; and
  • Alex Byford, Riding Sunbeams.

 
Commenting on the agenda, RIA Technical Director David Clarke, said: “We are pleased to announce the full agenda for our next Unlocking Innovation series of events, which comes at an important time for the rail industry and UK economy as a whole. We know that green economic growth is at the top of this Government’s agenda as it looks to rebuild from Coronavirus, with the Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris confirming just this week that the Government are 'deadly serious' about decarbonising the railways. And as a sector we have ambitious but achievable decarbonisation targets which we need to meet if the UK is to reach net-zero by 2050.

“Against this backdrop, these events will bring together key innovators and decision makers to showcase some of the leading green innovations in rail which are being developed and implemented across the country. We hope you can join us for what will be a fascinating and timely webinar series.”

Luisa Moisio, Research & Development Programme Director, at RSSB said: “RSSB is delighted to support the Unlocking Innovation webinar series on Routes to Zero Carbon Rail which comes at a crucial time for industry and its decarbonisation journey.  With the ambitious industry strategy on carbon starting to be delivered, this event gives us the opportunity to bring industry together to explore how to accelerate progress and drive the ‘net zero’ agenda forward.

“The programme for this webinar series showcases many examples of the most relevant and promising work happening in the rail decarbonisation arena. RSSB is particularly pleased to have the opportunity to disseminate some of the feasibility projects we funded through the ‘Intelligent Power Solutions’ competition and discuss on how they can be taken to the next stage.”

The events will be open to all and held from Monday 19 to Thursday 22 October 2020, at 14:00 – each event will last approximately one hour and a half. The week will conclude with Modern Railways’ well-regarded Railway Industry Innovation Awards taking place on the Friday.

Journalists are welcome to register, either via the link, or by emailing [email protected]k.

Notes to Editors

 

  1. See below for the full agenda for the Unlocking Innovation webinars:
     
    Monday 19 October: Driving electrification – more cost-efficient electrification of the network
    Speakers: Helen McAllister, Strategy & Planning Director (Wales & West), Network Rail – Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy, Justin Moss of Siemens and Richard Stainton from Network Rail.
     
    Tuesday 20 October: Decarbonising self-powered rolling stock
    Speakers: Mike Edwards of Motive Zero, Jonathan Brown from Ricardo Rail, Chris Smith of G-Volution, and Matt Candy of Steamology.

    Wednesday 21 October: Zero carbon Operations, Maintenance and Renewals
    Speakers: Howard Lungley, Sustainability Lead, Frazer Nash and Janet Dunnett, Programme Development Manager at Network Rail 

    Thursday 22 October: Generation decarbonisation – exploring rail’s wider role in the national push for net zero emissions
    Speakers: Russel Fowler, Senior Project Manager – Transport Decarbonisation, National Grid, David Horsfall, Director, Tyseley Energy Park and Andrew Kluth, Lead Carbon Specialist, RSSB about the Rail Decarbonisation R&D programme
     
    Friday 23 October: Modern Railways will be running their Railway Industry Innovation Awards, which RIA is sponsoring.
  2. About the Unlocking Innovation Programme: RIA’s highly regarded Unlocking Innovation events bring together the people with ideas and ambition to drive change within the rail industry. The events create a platform for large and small companies, academics and innovators with the aim of developing productivities that will drive invention in the industry. Unlocking Innovation events also aim to create new supply chains, to build value and benefit the UK economy, rail suppliers and ultimately the customers, the rail users.
  3. About RSSB: RSSB brings industry together to deliver expertise, solve complex issues and provide the headspace for collaboration, all leading to a better, safer railway. As a membership-based rail industry body, RSSB includes train and freight operating companies, infrastructure managers, contractors, rolling stock leasing companies and suppliers, and our work involves partnerships and affiliation with academia, government, and many other railways and organisations across the world. We provide impartial, risk-based analysis and insights to continually improve health, safety and performance. We develop standards, setting engineering and operational requirements for safe interworking and to increase efficiency.  We also undertake research and development to enable industry to generate knowledge, technologies and operational solutions that individual players in the rail system could not pursue in isolation. Together we form an industry support network, so that we all benefit from better safety, sustainability and service, and reduced cost and risk.
  4. About the Network Rail R&D Programme: Network Rail have made an investment £350m into the R&D portfolio in a bid to enhance invention and creativity in products, systems and equipment that will develop the industry and ultimately benefit rail users. https://www.networkrail.co.uk/industry-and-commercial/research-development-and-technology/research-and-development-programme/
  5. About UKRRIN: Formed in 2017, the UK Rail Research & Innovation Network (UKRRIN) brings the leading Universities in Rail with the industry to collaborate on ideas and drive aspiration and innovation. RIA is a founding member. https://www.ukrrin.org.uk/
  6. About RIA: The Railway Industry Association (RIA) is the voice of the UK rail supply community. We help to grow a sustainable, high-performing, railway supply industry, and to export UK rail expertise and products. RIA has 300+ companies in membership in a sector that contributes £36 billion in economic growth and £11 billion in tax revenue each year, as well as employing 600,000 people—more than the workforce of Birmingham. It is also a vital industry for the UK’s economic recovery, supporting green investment and jobs in towns and communities across the UK. RIA’s membership is active across the whole of railway supply, covering a diverse range of products and services and including both multi-national companies and SMEs (60% by number). RIA works to promote the importance of the rail system to UK plc, to help export UK expertise around the globe and to share best practice and innovation across the industry.