Clean hydrogen-fuelled engine from Cummins

Cummins is unveiling a new fuel agnostic version of its 6.7litre engine able to run on hydrogen. Laurent Divito from the firm said, “It’s still a combustion engine so there’s a lot of commonality with components.”

The B6.7H marks a significant development project for Cummins. Divito commented, “This new engine is part of our destination zero policy. Our agnostic engine will be available in 2030.”

He said that the hydrogen engine is a key development for the future and commented, “It can be seen as a transition to the fuel cell because it will use the same tank and infrastructure.”

Fuel types will be important and he added, “The next generation of Stage 6 engines will be fuel agnostic. This could be available for off-highway use.”

Another key innovation from Cummins is the partnership with NPROXX to provide an efficient fuel delivery system as well as high pressure fuel storage for hydrogen. The latest tank design now stores hydrogen at up to 700bars, which Divito said is becoming standard in markets such as the transport sector, where this fuel is beginning to be used. The increase in pressure allows for a significant gain in capacity, boosting running time. He added, “The engine is running at 10bars.”

The new tank is only part of the answer to fuelling however and Divito said that there is still a long way to go in developing the infrastructure for hydrogen-fuelled machines. “We need more hydrogen powered equipment in the market. You need to have the availability of fuel.”

He commented that fuel cell power systems will take further development to suit the rigorous construction and quarrying machinery environments. The fuel cell systems also require much cleaner facilities for their production, so costs will remain high for some time. The advantage for internal combustion engines running on hydrogen is that they utilise a great deal of proven technology and already feature the ruggedness and durability required for these challenging work environments.