In a entire world focused on cleaner fuels, far more productive engines and minimal tailpipe emissions, the humble diesel motor finds alone staring down the barrel of a loaded gun. But Cummins, maker of the diesel-run motors found in everything from trucks to tractors, thinks hydrogen may hold the crucial to its high-torque foreseeable future.
For extra than 100 years, Cummins has been churning out diesel engines to electricity college buses, motorhomes and agricultural products. Heck, it even driven some rather sweet arctic exploration autos in the past as properly.
But situations are transforming, and you simply cannot just strap a diesel motor into a truck and hope its a little larger MPG will please your pleasant neighborhood ecologist. So, Cummins experienced to put its thinking cap on and ponder the foreseeable future of its monster motors – since in some scenarios an electric motor nevertheless won’t fairly lower it.
And at an occasion in California this week, Cummins unveiled its probable vision for the foreseeable future: a 15-liter, hydrogen-driven motor.
This monster motor has been constructed on the company’s new “fuel-agnostic system,” which characteristics a variety of engines that can operate on a range of gas varieties.
In every single motor, anything below the head gasket unit contains “largely identical components” regardless of gas form. Earlier mentioned the gasket, on the other hand, every single electric power device will use “different elements for different gas types” due to the fact of the will need to range valve design and style, gas injector design and even include or eliminate spark plugs dependent on gasoline variety.
This hydrogen-fueled example showcased by Cummins will with any luck , make it into production in 2027. The company claims it will establish a 15-liter example, as nicely as a much more modest 6.7-liter displacement engine. These selections, it says, will “enable the field to take action and lessen GHG emissions.”
In screening, Cummins has so considerably managed to muster 810 ft-lbs torque and 290 hp from a medium-responsibility examination motor.
But Cummins is not the first automaker to eye a hydrogen-run future. In recent months, the two Ford and Yamaha have teased information about a attainable change to hydrogen in their inner combustion engined vehicles.
These corporations have established their sights on hydrogen ability for a variety of motives. To start with, Cummins says the new engines can be fueled “at a reduced original selling price of a fuel cell or battery electric powered auto.” The company also explained that converting present autos to employ hydrogen calls for “little modification.”
In a push launch, Daryl Wilson, executive director of the Hydrogen Council, reported:
“Heavy-responsibility trucking is crucial to the worldwide financial system and is just one of the hard-to-abate sectors of the overall economy.
“We are encouraged by progress at Cummins in the growth of hydrogen-fueled inside combustion engines and search forward to ongoing breakthroughs that can support us access price tag-powerful decarbonization of economies worldwide.”
And it was not just a new motor that Cummins was shouting about this 7 days. The company has also partnered with Daimler Truck in North America to roll its hydrogen energy models out on to the street.
As element of the tie-up, Cummins will upfit Freightliner Cascadia trucks with a Cummins hydrogen gasoline cell powertrain for use in North America. The vans will use Cummins’ fourth-era gasoline mobile powertrain, which the company states is additional efficient and strong.
The two firms say they will have hydrogen-driven models accessible for select prospects from 2024.