From road to rail freight transport –go to rail– the journey will be shorter from today. The Memorandum of Understanding signed today by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana S.p.A. (RFI) and Ricerca sul Sistema Energetico S.p.A. (RSE) on research and experimental activities is in line with the objectives of decarbonizing the transport system and the transition towards more sustainable modes.

In particular, the agreement will cover a new transport system, initially specific to freight, that will use Pipe§net technology on the RFI circuit in Bologna San Donato: a true open-air laboratory dedicated to innovation in the rail sector, which will revolutionize the industry thanks to magnetic levitation and linear electric motor propulsion inside low-pressure tubes.

The scientific and technological interest is to evaluate the integration of a sustainable logistics system for high speed freight transportation, by reducing aerodynamic friction and energy consumption, with a faster, less costly and environmentally friendly transportation solution.

“RSE, with all its research activities, supports the transition path in which Italy is a key player, and for this reason we are happy to be able to work with RFI to achieve the important and ambitious goal of making freight transport more efficient, powering the railway network with renewable sources and experimenting with new technologies such as Pipe§net,” explained RSE CEO Franco Cotana. “This technology will make it possible to transport goods throughout Italy at speeds of up to one ton per second without relying on fossil fuels, since the energy needed to move the capsules, which operate in evacuated air tubes and magnetic levitation, will be supplied entirely by photovoltaic panels integrated into the infrastructure. Thanks to the absence of friction, the linear electric motor will not lose energy and can also act as a generator, recovering up to 70 percent of the energy used during acceleration, while the remaining 30 percent will be provided by photovoltaic panels and batteries. This infrastructure could move up to 1.5 billion capsules per year along the entire Tyrrhenian ridge, from Reggio Calabria to Milan, and along the Adriatic ridge, from Lecce to Venice, developing the connection of ports and cross lines. The technology will allow the development of a real network, similar to the Internet, which will allow goods to reach the same destination through different routes,” Cotana added.