IronLev, an Italian company specialising in magnetic levitation solutions, has recently carried out tests to apply its technology on existing railways without any need to upgrade the current infrastructure. RailFreight.com had a discussion with IronLev co-founders Adriano Girotto and Luca Cesaretti to better understand how the technology works and how it can be advantageous for rail freight.
IronLev’s rail technology would not require retrofitting the infrastructure. “This means that it can work on any railway without requiring ad-hoc infrastructures to be built,” the company stated. This is the main difference between IronLev and similar technologies, such as Nevomo’s, which would require equipping the railways with additional components.
How does it work?
The application of IronLev technology on existing railway infrastructure is based on the interaction of two components, as Cesaretti specified. The two components are u-shaped sliders housing permanent magnets and a ferromagnetic rail. “As these elements engage, they generate a powerful levitational force, effortlessly suspending loads and eliminating friction”, Cesaretti specified.
In other words, all that is needed to deploy IronLev’s technology in the rail sector is retrofitting rolling stock. It needs to be mentioned that this process would not necessarily be a cheap one, at least for now. “The cost to implement Ironlev technology is higher for the vehicle since the vehicle must be equipped with the levitation technology and all the auxiliary elements, but it drastically decreases the infrastructure operational costs due to maintenance and repair, as well as the energy costs thanks to the reduced friction”, Girotto underlined.
The video below shows the tests run by IronLev along the Adria-Mestre line last March
The tests and the next steps
IronLev tested the application of this technology to the railways along the Adria-Mestre line near Venice and presented it in March at the LetExpo 2024 in Verona. The prototype pod travelled across the railway at a self-limited speed of 70 km/h. “The next development step will be to build and test a full-scale Ironlev Pod of about 20 tons capable of travelling on the standard railway infrastructure. With a targeted development timeframe of two years, this initiative is a promising step toward broader implementation on a larger scale”, Cesaretti added.
Funding mechanism
IronLev does not only focus on products for the rail industry. As Girotto explained, the company is not only involved in the rail and transport sectors. IronLev is also active in industrial automation, architecture and construction, as well as media and entertainment. The funds generated by these initiatives are deployed to self-finance the IronLev railway projects. Cesaretti added that more financial resources are “supplemented by leveraging national and European opportunities such as research and development grants and collaborative projects”.
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