Alstom put into service the first 1,500V Hesop advanced reversible substation for Yellow Line of Milan Underground

Alstom put into service its innovative Hesop reversible substation for the Yellow Line of MM, Milan Underground. This is the first Hesop 1,500V 4MW. This will help make ATM (Azienda Trasporti Milanesi), Milans subway operator, more energy efficient and will also help control tunnel temperatures. This is the second Hesop in commercial operation on a subway line, the first was the Hesop 600V 1MW installed for the London Underground, in operation since March 2015.

The Hesop system works by converting and transferring any unused power, generated by the trains during braking, to accelerating trains elsewhere on the line or to the grid. The Hesop control system is highly intelligent and ensures that the energy is recovered via the most efficient route that the infrastructure will permit. It enables the recovery of more than 99% of the traction energy generated during braking, thereby reducing CO₂ emissions through reduced energy consumption. The system allows ATM on the Yellow Line to recover 15% of the traction energy generated when trains brake, and then to re-inject that energy into the public power grid.

This is fantastic news for us, for Milan Underground, for commuters and for the environment. We bring our innovative technology with the introduction of Hesop in the Rogoredo sub-station of Yellow Line of Milan subway. We would like to thank ATM that played a key role by supporting the Alstom team throughout the duration of the installation and testing phase . This is just the latest sign that we at Alstom are determined to become more and more active across rail infrastructure in Italy said Michele Viale, Managing Director of Alstom in Italy and Switzerland.

ATM has always paid great attention to the environment, so it is always interested in participating in innovative projects that allow greater energy efficiency and a lower environmental impact. This is another piece in the ATM policy towards a zero-emission company said Miles Parisi, Energy Manager ATM.

The project was developed jointly by Alstoms site in Rome, Italy Charleroi, Belgium and Saint-Ouen, France for ATM. ATM, the Milan subway operator, played a key role in the project by making proofing environment available and by sharing the installation solutions in the project phase.  This project is funded by the LIFE+ program of the European Commission.

124 Hesop substations have been sold by Alstom so far for the projects of Desio-Seregno tramway and metro, London Underground, Riyadh metro, Sydney tramway, Panama and Dubai metros.

Hesop 1,500V has just been awarded a price at Alstoms internal innovation contest, I Nove You.