Alstom's HESOP technology gets special mention at French Business and Environment Awards

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The nominees in the 'Eco-product for Sustainable Development' category are 

On 29 november, HESOP, the braking energy recovery solution developed by Alstom, was given a special mention at the 2011 edition of the French government's Business and Environment Awards (Prix Entreprises et Environnement), in the "Eco-product for Sustainable Development" category. After congratulating the winners, Dominique Dron, the Commissioner-General for Sustainable Development, conferred this distinction on Christian Messelyn, Transport Global Solutions Strategy & Concessions Vice-President at Alstom.

This recognition confirms the relevance of Alstom's innovative solution in a context of strong pressure on the operating costs of municipalities and rail operators.

The awards, which reward companies with an innovative approach to sustainable development, are held each year by the ministry responsible for sustainable development and the ADEME (Agency for the Environment and Energy Management).

Focus: braking energy recovery  

In the braking phase, the electric engine in a train behaves like a generator, transforming movement into electricity, or 'braking energy'. Some of this energy is used by the train itself and by trains running nearby, while the rest is lost (between 5 and 20%, depending on the network configuration). This lost braking energy represents a total of about 165 gigawatt hours in France.

HESOP* is a tramway sub-station that enables unused braking energy to be re-injected into the electricity distribution network. It is particularly well-suited for tram, metro and suburban train, and allows for recovery of nearly all braking energy (99%).

HESOP is a global solution which, when installed in each electrical sub-station, balances line energy requirements, optimises the power supply system (eliminating up to 10% of sub-stations), enhances voltage quality and improves rolling stock longevity. It was also created using an eco-design approach, with careful selection of materials. 

View the 3D HESOP Animation here.