The Anonymous Widower

It’s All Happening In Jamshedpur!

When I read this article on Hydrogen Fuel News, which is entitled Cummins And Tata Motors Ignite Change With H2 Internal Combustion Engines, I couldn’t resist using the jokey headline, which was inspired by the sub-heading.

The manufacturing has started in Jamshedpur, India at a new state-of-the-art facility

These two paragraphs give some more details.

The hydrogen internal combustion engines continuing to be produced at the facility are being integrated into Tata Motors trucks. This technology is being viewed as a promising zero- or low-carbon alternative to diesel power because of its powerful performance and substantial operating range.

Cummins’ B6.7H engines have notable similarities to current natural gas and diesel engines, particularly in terms of the components they contain. Moreover, they can fit in standard engine vehicles and require similar refueling times.

I first wrote about the Cummins B 6.7H engines in Cummins Shows Hydrogen Internal Combustion-Engined Concept Truck At IAA Transportation Exhibition, which I posted in September 2022.

I have these further thoughts.

Cummins B Series Engine

The Wikipedia entry for the Cummins B Series Engine, starts with these two paragraphs.

The Cummins B Series is a family of diesel engines produced by American manufacturer Cummins. In production since 1984, the B series engine family is intended for multiple applications on and off-highway, light-duty, and medium-duty. In the automotive industry, it is best known for its use in school buses, public service buses (most commonly the Dennis Dart and the Alexander Dennis Enviro400) in the United Kingdom, and Dodge/Ram pickup trucks.

Since its introduction, three generations of the B series engine have been produced, offered in both inline-four and inline-six configurations in multiple displacements.

Note.

1. Cummins B Series is used in a wide variety of vehicles.
2. It is available in both four and six cylinder versions.

But what Wikipedia doesn’t say, is that any Cummins’ customer will get the engine he wants for his application, even if it means creating a special version of the engine. Thirty years ago, I did a small data analysis job for Cummins in Darlington and on a tour of the works, I was given full details on how they treated customers. Cummins are not your average US company.

London’s Routemaster Buses

These buses are powered by a small four-cylinder version of the B-series engine, called a 4.5L ISB, which is described like this in Wikipedia.

The 4.5L ISB is essentially a four-cylinder, two-thirds version of the 6.7L ISB rated at 185 hp (138 kW), used in the New Routemaster, a series hybrid diesel-electric double-decker bus in London.

Note.

1. Some diesel Range-Rovers, have more power, than these buses, but then they’re not hybrids.
2. The engine also needs to be smaller, as it’s mounted under the back stairs.

Did Cummins’ special engine. allow the unique design of London’s Routemaster Buses?

Could London’s Routemaster Buses Be Converted To Hydrogen?

As an engineer and with my knowledge of Cummins’ design and manufacturing methods, I am fairly certain, if Cummins can manufacture six-cylinder versions of the B-Series engines, then four-cylinder hydrogen-powered engines are not far behind.

If London were to convert the thousand New Routemaster buses to hydrogen, there would be winners all round.

• Cummins would love the publicity and would probably benefit from increased sales of their hydrogen engines in vehicles like refuse trucks and small buses.
• It would surely give a route to convert older vehicles to hydrogen.
• The air in cities will improve.

But London has a problem, It is one of the few large cities in the world without readily-available hydrogen.

As this post illustrates and my Google searches show, India has a more advanced and scientifically-correct view  on the usefulness of hydrogen.

Will Jaguar Land Rover Switch To Cummins’ Hydrogen Engines?

If Tata Motors make a success of hydrogen in India, it must  make them think about adding hydrogen engines to Jaguar Land Rover products, specially as other manufacturers are getting serious about hydrogen.

Conclusion

Cummins will change the world for the better.

May 16, 2024 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Cummins, Cummins B6.7H, Hydrogen-Powered Buses, Hydrogen-Powered Trucks, India, Jaguar Land Rover, New Routemaster, Sadiq Khan No Hydrogen Policy, Tata Motors