A DERBY tram project that has spent years in the sidings is being resurrected with more than a million pounds of fresh investment.
Stored Engine Technology in Litchurch Lane will be using about £1.5 million of funding to develop a lighter, more efficient and cheaper means to power trams.
The motors and a guidance system would be incorporated into the wheels, a radical departure from conventional trams whose wheels are driven through the axle and transmission, thus making the trams much lighter.
The company has won an investment of £919,000 through the Radical Train Competition – designed to accelerate research and development and run by the rail industry's Enabling Innovation Team.
The firm has also received a £114,000 grant from the Derby Enterprise Growth Fund and £344,700 worth of loan support.
An early version of the technology, designed and developed in Derby, was incorporated into a tram that underwent successful trials in Blackpool, running smoothly for 2,000 km in 2009.
But, since then, the prototype has been hidden away at the premises of GGS Engineering, sister company of Stored Engine Technology.
The funding will allow the business to take the two-year wheelmotor demonstrator project forward and enable it to recruit four more engineers who will work in partnership with the Institute of Railway Research, based at Huddersfield University.
Stored Engine Technology project manager Neil Cooney said: "The tram project was put on hold because, at that time, there was not the confidence in the business to carry it forward.
"The funding from the Radical Train competition and the Derby Enterprise Growth Fund mean that it has been reinvigorated. After many years of planning, we now have the funding in place to forge ahead to build a working prototype."
The prototype has the potential to attract the interest of major manufacturers of trams, such as Bombardier, Siemens and Alstom, should the technology prove economically viable for large-scale production.
"Our steering group of rail industry experts are very excited about the technology and the potential for the rail sector across the world," said Mr Cooney.
"We are committed to keeping manufacturing for the new system here in Derby."
City council director of regeneration Richard Williams said: "This is an exciting project which could provide revolutionary applications in the light rail sector – improving safety and efficiency."
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