Cummins Inc. announced it is developing its industry-leading B-, L- and X-Series powertrain platforms to take lower-carbon fuels, such as natural gas and hydrogen. The platforms will use engine blocks and core components that share common architectures that will be optimized for the fuels.
Below the head gasket of each engine will largely have similar components, and above the head gasket will have different components for different fuel types. Each engine version will operate using a different, single fuel.
The new platforms will be subject to unmatched testing and evaluation to ensure high-performance, Cummins said. “No matter what type of work an application does, we’ll have an engine powered by lower-carbon fuels with diesel-like performance to get the job done,” said Jonathon White, vice president of engineering for Cummins’ Engine Business.
The move will help the company and its customers meet goals suggested by the United Nations and World Economic Forum, such as the target of net-zero emissions by 2050. “We know that our planet cannot wait for the perfect solution to happen,” said Srikanth Padmanabhan, president for Cummins’ Engine Business. “Instead, our approach must be a combined effort of using zero emissions power where it’s available and using cleaner power where it is not. The planet cannot afford for us to hit pause in the meantime.”
