Hitachi Rail to acquire Perpetuum
16/11/2020
Hitachi Rail Ltd in the UK has agreed to acquire Southampton-based condition monitoring specialist Perpetuum as part of a strategy to strengthen the use of digital technology in rail operations.Established as a university spin-off less than a decade ago, Perpetuum developed the use of bogie-mounted self-powered vibration sensors to monitor the condition of rolling stock. Wireless equipment fitted to around 3000 vehicles operating across three continents sends back real-time data about the performance of wheelsets, gearboxes, motors and bogies.
This information can be combined with artificial intelligence (AI)-led analytical tools to identify potential faults, allowing them to be addressed before any failure can impact on train operations. This reduces the need for maintenance and cuts costs, while extending the average life of critical components before replacement by more than 25%.
The acquisition, announced on 10 August, is intended to support the Hitachi group strategy of ‘investing in digital and data-driven ways to solve complex customer challenges’ using its Lumada platform. Hitachi Rail envisages that applications of the Perpetuum technology could be extended beyond wheelsets and bogies ‘to provide actionable information wherever it is generated on the train’. It plans to fit sensors to a wide variety of rolling stock, ranging from high-speed to metro and freight, as part of an integrated service and maintenance package.
The value of the 100% acquisition was not disclosed. Subject to approval by the relevant competition authorities, the deal is anticipated to close in the autumn of 2020. The Perpetuum brand is expected to be retained and all 73 staff will become part of Hitachi’s global railway business, which now totals more than 12,000 employees across 38 countries.
