The electrical grid: undersized, aging and expensive to maintain 

Primary barrier to financing and constructing projects: Grid Interconnection uncertainty

Transmission capacity needs to triple by 2050 from 2020 levels (at a cost of $2.4T). However, it takes 10-20 years to build a new transmission line at a cost of $2.3M per mile. 

In 2024, 2600 GW of generation and storage projects were waiting for grid connection.

Only 19% of new power projects in the interconnection queue from 2000-2018 were built as of 2023. 

Economic impact - data centers, EV charging infrastructure, ports, industrial facilities, and new residential developments are all being stalled or losing their financing, because they cannot get grid power.

Shipping sunlight & delivering green energy

SunTrain: Simple, Scalable, Faster 

• A wire-free alternative to the grid using existing rail networks to move renewable energy equivalent to the output of 5 natural gas plants.
• Charged with 1.9 GWh of (a) renewable power from newly accessible resource areas, OR (b) existing renewables curtailed due to grid congestion.

• At the discharge sites, the railcars seamlessly integrate this power into the grid. 
• When discharged, the train returns to the generation site, while a fully charged SunTrain takes its place.
• SunTrains can be operating in as little as 24 months, compared to 10-20 years for new transmission lines. 

Using the rail network to transport energy 

The rail network connects to the same endpoints as the transmission grid. However, unlike the grid, the rail network also connects to areas with some of the best untapped renewable resources. 

Unlike the grid, the rail network is not close to capacity. Even more will be available for SunTrain as the capacity currently utilized to transport fossil fuels continues to decline. 

A new class of energy capacity

• Cost Competitive:  Avoids transmission congestion and reduces curtailment, while having a capacity cost comparable to natural gas.
• Flexible: It allows energy to be shifted in both time and location.
• Enhances System Resilience: provides resilience at a power plant level while being reconfigurable to meet changing grid needs over time 
• Immediate Emissions Reductions: SunTrain capacity is 88% cleaner than fossil generation when delivered by diesel locomotives while electric locomotive delivery is 100% clean capacity
• Enables a Just Energy Transition: By replacing lost coal transport business and giving new economic life to fossil fueled power stations, it supports a fair transition for workers and communities.
• Cheaper Power Sooner: allows inefficient and polluting power sources to be rapidly decommissioned to lower power costs
• Gigaton Scale Impact: a single SunTrain project is estimated to eliminate over half a gigaton of carbon emissions each year

On track to commercialization 

Partnering with a major utility and NREL to develop a 20-railcar, pilot-scale train with an energy storage capacity of 384 MWh.

Demonstrated at proof of concept scale with a 750 kilowatt hour train car transported over 6,500 miles to discharge points around the state of California.

Pilot will operate between two former coal-fired power plants to capture frequently curtailed renewable wind and solar energy at one site and move it to the other for discharge to mitigate peaker plant emissions. It will be completed in 2028 with the first full-scale SunTrains operating as soon as 2030. 

Immediately Deployable: Gen 1 Rail Car is projected to be ready for deployment in Pilot and first full-scale projects. Gen 2 Box Car design to be developed using Pilot data and should be available for mass deployment as soon as 2030.

Utility Scale Energy: 7,000 ft long SunTrain, the typical length of a coal train, delivers over 1.9 GWh of energy. 

Safe and Durable: Lithium iron phosphate chemistry minimizes the risk of thermal runaway, fires, explosions, or environmental contamination, and has a lifespan of over 30 years. 

Efficient and Robust: Round-trip efficiency of over 92% and capable of operating from 20ºC to + 45ºC

Suitable for Multiple Load Applications: A full unit train can supply up to 450 MW on demand 

AC or DC Delivery: Can be configured to meet AC transmission or distribution grid requirements or provide DC power

SunTrain vs. Transmission 

• Shorter "Time to Market" - A new SunTrain can be operating in as little as two years compared to the one to two decades required for transmission.
• More adaptable - Transmission is fixed in place, requiring approvals for new capacity.  SunTrains can be repositioned to meet changing grid needs and are rapidly scalable by adding cars or trains.
• Power you can plan on - Can be coordinated to meet the construction schedules for planned projects to eliminate power provision delays.
• More resilient - In the face of natural or man-made disasters, SunTrains can be re-routed around trouble points to help restore the grid.
• Repurposable - When transmission is finally built to serve an area, a SunTrain can relocate to serve a new project OR stay at the renewable site to enable 24/7 grid-scale dispatchability.  

SunTrain vs. Stationary Storage 

• Increased impact - A single SunTrain would equal 14% of the grid-scale energy storage currently installed in the US.
• Reduced grid congestion - SunTrains do not compound capacity shortages by charging within constrained regions.
• Increased availability - When a stationary battery is empty, it must wait until conditions are correct to recharge. An empty SunTrain can be immediately swapped with a fully charged one.
• Increased adaptability - Can shift charge and discharge locations as needed to meet changing demand over time.
• Shorter time to market - Stationary storage projects require grid access with over 1086 GW of proposed projects stalled in the connection queue in 2024. SunTrains can be deployed as soon as they are complete.

$120B+ Market Opportunity 

Satisfying just 5% of the $2.4T grid buildout in the U.S. is a $120B market opportunity. 

Global transmission needs by 2050 exceed $21T, according to BNEF, or a $1.1T market opportunity.

SunTrain is a development platform utilizing project finance or direct customer financing to construct projects.

3 revenue streams: 

1. Development fees 
2. O&M fees 
3. Equity returns based on the retained ownership percentage

As the company gains traction, it may shift to an operating/holding company model with more direct project ownership and/or seek to license its key technologies to third party developers. 

Initial market - Utilities & merchant plants 

Already identified 24GWh of full-scale projects with 8 utilities and qualified 2 merchant plant project opportunities totaling 8 GWh. 

By 2033, seven projects with a total capacity of 23.2 GWh could be in operation with 18 projects with a total capacity of 68.4 GWh in construction. 

Ongoing expansion market discussions with renewable energy projects developers, industrial facilities, fleet vehicle charging companies, data centers and other critical infrastructure. 

Expansion Market 

SunTrain is uniquely positioned to satisfy the immediate availability, resiliency and reliability requirements of this market. 

• Allows stored energy to be stockpiled on-site to support onsite microgrid generation and storage systems 
• Enables facility operations to start years before grid interconnection is available 
• When grid power is available, enables 24/7 sigma-level reliable operations even in the event of significant grid disruptions 

Project Types & Customer Verticals 

Project Development Timeline: What happens over the 2 years 

Projected Development Pathway