Voltify's Ambition: Electrifying the U.S. Rail Industry

Daphna Langer is aiming high with her ambitious goal: to overhaul the rail sector's environmental impact within a decade.

Her strategy involves persuading U.S. freight rail companies to abandon diesel engines and embrace battery-powered models. Langer believes this shift could make her company, Voltify, a significant player with potential earnings up to $10 billion a year.

Environmental and Economic Benefits

The rail sector needs to decrease carbon emissions by 5% annually to hit zero by 2030, as detailed in a recent report. Besides the environmental gains, adopting battery systems over diesel promises U.S. freight companies savings of an estimated $94 billion over the next two decades.

Voltify's innovation, VoltCars, functions as modular sodium-ion battery units that can be attached to existing freight trains.

Overcoming Industry Challenges

Converting an established industry to renewable energy may seem daunting, but Langer cites several assurances driving her confidence.

Having supported budding companies in the climate sector, Langer observed two common barriers: a dependency on government incentives and insufficient manufacturing infrastructure.

Determined to clear these hurdles, Langer engaged extensively with stakeholders in the energy and materials industries, leading her to collaborate with Alon Kessel.

The Path Forward with Voltify

Kessel, with deep roots in renewable energy ventures, identified that just six major freight companies collectively spend over $11 billion on diesel each year, per a CNBC report.

The duo recognized the potential: Convert these giants to battery power to reduce dependency on diesel.

Strategic Conversations and Trials

After launching Voltify, they faced initial skepticism from the traditional rail industry, focused primarily on operational continuity and reliability.

Rail companies' main concern was uninterrupted power supply. They needed assurances that energy would consistently meet demands.

Developing Solutions

In response, Voltify developed predictive algorithms to map train energy needs on all routes, and is establishing a solar-based microgrid, aiming for completion by the end of the year.

Such a system could eventually power the entire North American rail network, requiring approximately 1,400 microgrids.

Voltify is currently engaged in dynamic discussions with several leading North American railroad firms and is planning a pilot project with a smaller company, with commercial testing slated for 2026.

The Competitive Landscape

Voltify isn't alone in this pursuit. In 2019, another firm introduced the battery-electric FLXdrive, set to debut in Australia and testing expected in the Americas.

While technologies promise a reduction in diesel dependency by up to 30%, challenges remain, such as battery charge time and infrastructure costs.

Potential for Passenger Trains

Battery trains hold considerable promise for non-electrified rail routes. Siemens has already initiated battery-electric services in North America and Europe.

These developments signal significant opportunities for battery-equipped passenger trains.