Cummins India to showcase fuel-agnostic platform at Auto Expo 2023

Power solutions technology provider Cummins Group is to present its Destination Zero decarbonisation strategy and product range at the 16th Auto Expo in New Delhi next month (January 13-18).

‘Destination Zero’ is Cummins’ strategy to go further and faster to reduce its products' greenhouse gas (GHG) and air quality impacts and reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The group is pursuing a dual-path approach – acting today to reduce emissions from internal combustion engines while simultaneously investing in new, zero-emissions products.

Cummins states that it “believes that transitioning to a zero-carbon future is not a light-switch event. Therefore, progressing and integrating various technologies today will contribute towards a greener future tomorrow.”

 Ashwath Ram, Managing Director, Cummins Group in India, said, “Climate change is the existential crisis of our time, and we need to act urgently to mitigate it. India has set itself the ambitious target of reaching net zero by 2070. The commercial transportation sector has a major role to play in helping the country meet this goal. Cummins Group in India is well positioned to drive this decarbonisation in the industry. We believe it is our responsibility to act today for a sustainable tomorrow. The technologies showcased at the Auto Expo next month result from this desire to build a cleaner and greener world combined with our brand promise of innovation and dependability.”

Ms. Anjali Pandey, Chief Operating Officer, Cummins Group in India commented, “Cummins Group in India has always believed in bringing the right technology that matters for our customer’s success at the right time. Ultimately, we win when our customers win. We are making significant investments to introduce fit-for-market, green powertrain solutions that will be made in India, for India and for the world. Our strategy incorporates a ‘well-to-wheels’ emissions reductions approach by matching technology readiness with infrastructure readiness, driving wide-scale adoption and helping lower TCO.”

Tech tour de force at Auto Expo 2023
Cummins will use Auto Expo 2023 as an industry platform to showcase and launch its Destination Zero product range and decarbonisation technologies which include:

Industry-first fuel-agnostic platform: A fuel-agnostic platform will demonstrate a practical way to reduce emissions using technology that OEMs, fleet managers, and operators are familiar with. According to Cummins, the drive towards decarbonisation would need industry to work on multiple technologies, leveraging the currently available options of low and zero-carbon fuels. This will provide options to end users and offer flexibility of adoption based on infrastructure availability, transport operation needs, and also help optimise the economics of the transportation.

The fuel-agnostic architecture utilises a common base engine with cylinder heads and fuel systems specifically tailored to fuel ranging from diesel, natural gas, renewable natural gas, and hydrogen. The platform offers OEMs common engine architecture across multiple fuel types, resulting in commonality for many parts.

At the Auto Expo 2023, Cummins’ fuel-agnostic platform concept will be demonstrated through:

Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine: Part of the fuel agnostic platform is what could become the most practical solution toward achieving zero-carbon emissions for medium- and heavy-duty truck manufacturers is Cummins’ hydrogen internal combustion engine. When paired with green hydrogen, this engine produces zero well-to-wheel CO2 emissions. Solutions addressing medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses, highlighting the technology’s ability to support decarbonization across multiple duty cycles will be displayed.

Cummins had showcased its B6.7H hydrogen IC engine (H2-ICE) at IAA Transportation in September. The H2-ICE conversion highlights the opportunity for truck applications across the 10-to-26 tonne GVW range to operate on zero-carbon hydrogen fuel with a potential operating range of up to 500 kilometres.

Last month, Cummins inked an MoU with Tata Motors to develop hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles and India will be one of the first markets to receive Cummins’ hydrogen engines, an important technology to help drive decarbonisation.

Electrolyser (for Green Hydrogen generation): The electrolyser takes the water as input and splits it into Hydrogen and Oxygen as output. When supplied with renewable energy, the H2 generated is called green H2 since the process doesn’t have any carbon footprint. Cummins globally has supplied and commissioned more than 600 electrolysers worldwide with PEM and alkaline technologies. A modular variant of the state-of-the-art electrolyser-stack technology will be on display.

A modular variant of the electrolyser-stack technology will be on display.

Hydrogen fuel cell: Cummins Inc’s latest generation fuel cell engine will showcase the rapid evolution of its zero-emissions technologies. Building on the deployment of more than 2,000 fuel cells globally for various applications, including bus, truck, stationery power, and railways, this next-generation product provides improved power density, efficiency, and durability and is available in single and dual module engines for both medium and heavy-duty vehicles.

Hydrogen fuel cell engine. 

Natural Gas Engine: Natural gas engines help lower emissions and reduce a vehicle’s overall environmental impact without sacrificing the performance needed to get the job done. Natural gas engines are also the most mature, proven, and least disruptive alternative power technology available today.

Natural gas infrastructure is available and accelerates the Government of India’s vision of increasing natural gas share in the energy mix from 6% to 15% by 2030. Significant investments are already planned to build the infrastructure on CNG and LNG, and this technology will help achieve the government’s vision.

Latest-generation diesel: With a foundation of almost 700,000 Euro VI, low-emission engines supplied, Cummins plans to showcase its latest-generation advanced diesel platform. Cummins’ advanced diesel engines allow customers to reduce emissions and significantly improve power and torque.

Cummins will also showcase its latest-generation advanced diesel platform.

Electric powertrain technology: Cummins Inc’s recent acquisition of Meritor, a leading global supplier of drivetrain, mobility, braking, and electric powertrain technologies, strengthens Cummins’ industry-leading range of powertrain components and will enable accelerated development of electrified power solutions.

Together, Cummins and Meritor plan to move further and faster in developing economically viable decarbonised powertrain solutions that advance the Destination Zero strategy. Meritor products will also be displayed at Auto Expo 2023. The technologies being showcased under the ambit of ‘electric powertrain’ include:

Battery-electric technology: Cummins Inc. has developed new-generation battery pack solutions based on deep duty cycle and application experience. Multiple batteries will be showcased that help customers to reach zero emissions today. These batteries have distinct chemistries and form factors for meeting the needs of various applications in the market. The batteries are equipped with an advanced Battery Management System (BMS) for monitoring various critical battery parameters and diagnostics and improving the battery life & performance.