The Anonymous Widower

Cummins And Accelera Showcase Broadest Portfolio Of Decarbonizing Technologies With An Emphasis On Hydrogen

The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Cummins.

This is the first paragraph.

Cummins Inc. and Accelera™ by Cummins, Cummins’ zero-emissions technology brand, will showcase a variety of technologies in their booth at Advanced Clean Transportation Expo (May 2 to 4, Anaheim, California). The line-up emphasizes the role that hydrogen will play as part of Destination Zero, Cummins’ strategy to go further, faster to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) and air quality impacts of its products and reach zero emissions by 2050. The company will showcase technologies across the hydrogen value chain, including electrolyzers to produce hydrogen that can power both a hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine (H2-ICE) concept truck and a fuel cell electric powertrain.

The press release says this about their electrolysers for hydrogen production.

The hydrogen ecosystem is underpinned by green hydrogen production. Accelera’s electrolyzer technology is enabling the infrastructure scale-up needed to support hydrogen-powered vehicles.

They also say that they now have a 2.5 MW electrolyser module.

The press release has a section about the X15H Peterbilt Model 579 Concept Truck, which is a conversion of a standard Peterbilt Model 579 truck.

Cummins will reveal a heavy-duty concept truck featuring the X15H hydrogen internal combustion engine (H2-ICE). The proof-of-concept installation with ratings up to 500 horsepower (372 kW) features a 700-bar pressure 80 kg high-capacity hydrogen storage system. The H2-ICE conversion highlights the opportunity for heavy-duty truck applications to operate on zero-carbon hydrogen fuel with an operating range of more than 500 miles. The hydrogen conversion work is not expected to compromise truck performance, cargo capacity or payload. The substitution of the diesel engine with the 15-liter hydrogen engine and integration with the existing driveline highlights the ability of H2-ICE to offer a zero-carbon solution for fleets to deploy quickly with limited investment.

This footnote says a bit more about the X15H hydrogen internal combustion engine.

The X15H hydrogen engine with up to 1900 foot-pounds torque is an all-new engine platform featuring cutting-edge technology to enhance power density, reduce friction losses and improve thermal efficiency. As a result, performance is equivalent to that of a similar displacement diesel engine and compatible with the same transmissions, drivelines and cooling packages. A further benefit of the X15H is significantly quieter running than a diesel.

It looks to me, that Cummins will be going for both the new build and replacement market.

Werner Enterprises Signs Letter Of Intent Planning To Secure 500 X15H Engines From Cummins and Transport Enterprise Leasing To Integrate Cummins X15H Hydrogen Engine Into Heavy Duty Trucks show this sales philosophy at work.

The press release also says this about their hydrogen fuel cell engine.

Hydrogen fuel cell engines turn hydrogen stored onboard a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) into electricity to power the electric powertrain. This creates efficient, zero-emissions power for demanding applications with longer ranges and harder duty cycles. On display at ACT Expo is Accelera’s FCE150 Gen 4 fuel cell engine, powered to go the distance with superior performance and reliability and zero tailpipe emissions. It features increased power density, efficiency and durability with ease of system integration. It is available in 150 kW and 300 kW configurations with the flexibility to decarbonize a range of heavy-duty applications.

This looks to be a formidable beast.

After America, The World

It will be interesting to see what plans Cummins have for the rest of the world.

These posts contain some of my thoughts.

This must be one of the biggest conversions of a major corporation to zero-carbon thinking.

 

May 3, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | , , , | 1 Comment

Transport Enterprise Leasing To Integrate Cummins X15H Hydrogen Engine Into Heavy Duty Trucks

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Fleet Equipment.

This is the first paragraph.

Transport Enterprise Leasing and Cummins Inc. announced recently that TEL has signed a letter of intent planning to purchase Cummins’ 15-liter hydrogen internal combustion engines when available. TEL will integrate the Cummins’ X15H hydrogen engines into their fleet of heavy-duty trucks.

This second paragraph is very significant.

Hydrogen engines can use zero-carbon green hydrogen fuel, produced by Cummins-manufactured electrolyzers. The projected investment in renewable hydrogen production globally will provide a growing opportunity for the deployment of hydrogen-powered fleets utilizing either Cummins fuel cell or engine power.

Cummins would appear to be aiming to be a one-stop shop to decarbonise your fleet of heavy trucks or anything that is powered by a Cummins diesel engine.

I did a small amount of work for Cummins about twenty years ago and one of the companies objectives was to be able to provide a diesel engine to fit anybody’s application.

So if someone wanted a diesel engine with a particular power, that fitted in an unusually-shaped or confined space, they would rearrange the layout of the engine to make it fit.

I suspect that London’s New Routemaster buses have a special version of Cummins B Series engine, designed for its unusual location halfway up the back stairs.

Will Cummins produce a hydrogen internal combustion engine for the New Routemaster?

  • The buses could become zero-carbon, at less cost than new buses.
  • Passengers would notice no difference in ride comfort and experience.
  • Drivers would just need to use the hydrogen systems.
  • Maintenance staff would only need to be trained n handling the hydrogen system, as much of the buses would be unchanged.
  • Cummins could sell an electrolyser to each garage.
  • London would get some good publicity for tourism.

London’s iconic bus would look the same.

September 15, 2022 Posted by | Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment