Fig. 2: All-inclusive electricity prices needed to reach diesel parity based on total cost of ownership.
From: Economic, environmental and grid-resilience benefits of converting diesel trains to battery-electric
These prices include electricity costs plus charging infrastructure costs, assuming LFP technology over a 20-year horizon. The battery prices considered are US$200 kWh–1 (dark green), US$100 kWh–1 (blue) and US$50 kWh–1 (light green). Current electricity prices are depicted by the shaded blue box. The vertical red line demarcates the 2019 average diesel price paid by the rail industry. At current wholesale diesel prices of US$0.56 l–1 and ignoring environmental damages, all-inclusive electricity prices would need to approach US$0.056 kWh–1 with battery prices at US$100 kWh–1 and US$0.074 kWh–1 with battery prices at US$50 kWh–1 to compete with diesel. These estimates are based on a locomotive with a 241-km range with a 9.1-MWh battery tender car pulling 1,090 revenue-tonnes. TCO is annualized over a 20-year horizon with a 3% discount rate.
