Przemek Ben Pączek and his team at Nevomo, a Polish rail technology company, are finalists in the small and medium-sized enterprises category of the European Inventor Award 2026, organized by the European Patent Office (EPO).
They are also in the running for the Popular Prize, decided partly through public voting.
The team was recognized for MagRail, a system that uses electromagnetic propulsion to move rail wagons without a locomotive. The technology is designed to work on existing tracks, avoiding the need to build entirely new magnetic rail lines.
Pączek, the founder and chief executive of Nevomo, said the award nomination was linked to patents covering two versions of the system.
The first, MagRail Booster, adds a new type of drive to existing wagons and railway lines that allows wagons to move at speeds of up to 160 kph, without a locomotive, in a fully electrified and automated way, Pączek told Poland's PAP news agency.
The system uses a passive magnetic board mounted under the vehicle. A flat third rail is installed between the existing rails and generates an electromagnetic field that pushes the wagon or slows it down.
Nevomo says the solution is particularly useful for freight, ports, steelworks, terminals and other industrial rail networks, where wagons often need to be moved over short distances.
The company says the system can also help heavy freight trains climb gradients, where conventional rail traction can be limited by wheel slip.
“In our case, thanks to contactless electromagnetic propulsion, wheel slip does not occur,” Pączek said. “We have full power available, so it is possible to increase the length of freight trains and eliminate additional locomotives pushing trains uphill. That means new opportunities and large savings.”
MagRail Booster has already been put to commercial use and is being installed on private rail lines used by industrial operators. Nevomo is carrying out most of these projects in the Middle East, India and Europe.
The second version of MagRail would add magnetic levitation to existing tracks, but would require new, lighter vehicles.
Pączek said such trains could eventually reach speeds of up to 550 kph on straight sections of lines that now allow high-speed trains to travel at 300 to 350 kph.
That version is expected no earlier than about a decade from now. Its main use would be passenger transport, where Nevomo says magnetic rail could compete with short-haul aviation.
Pączek said magnetic rail systems require costly new infrastructure.
"The novelty of our system is that it does not require the construction of new lines," he said. "There are almost 1.5 million kilometers of tracks in the world. It is much easier to modernize them than to build new infrastructure."
The inventor said MagRail could make rail transport cheaper and more attractive. According to Pączek, the Booster system could cut operating costs by up to 85 percent and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 95 percent compared with road transport.
"Our technology can change global transport," he said.
The European Patent Office will announce the winners on July 2 in Berlin. Public voting for the Popular Prize opened on May 12 and runs until the award ceremony.
(rt/gs)
Source: naukawpolsce.pl, epo.org