Photon Elektrant smart ID: Smart power column for the Deutsche Bahn - Photon

Trains also need electricity on sidings or in freight depots – e.g. for the central computer. That’s why special supply points are provided at these locations. But who consumes how much electricity and when?

The Deutsche Bahn wants to know exactly – to allow for accurate assignment and billing. The question: How do you reach a functional solution fast and cost-efficiently?

Enter Photon.

Photon combines many years of rail communications experience with in-depth expertise in the manufacturing of electric vehicle charging stations and also has the required certifications – a rare combination.

That’s why Photon was able to quickly come up with its own innovative solution: an intelligent power-supply column, which for the first time enables centralised and accurate monitoring through integration in the GSM-R network of the Deutsche Bahn. Billing works via the OCCP system, which is also used in charging stations for e-vehicles.

The Photon Elektrant Smart ID is developed and manufactured from A to Z by Photon (excluding foreign parts) – including the complex inner life. Over the next few years, Photon will deliver many of the bright yellow pillars – making an important contribution to digitising rail infrastructure in Germany.