The next product on Cummins' X15 fuel agnostic platform will be a next generation diesel compliant with U.S. EPA and CARB 2027 regulations, the company said Thursday.
The new diesel offering will join the Cummins X15N natural gas engine in a lineup Cummins calls HELM (Higher Efficiency. Lower emissions. Multiple fuels) – a new and more marketable name for the B Series, X10 and X15 fuel agnostic engine platforms that ties these products to Cummins' march toward zero emissions.
Through higher efficiency, lower emissions and multiple fuels, Vice President of Cummins' Global On-Highway Business Jane Beaman said the Cummins HELM platform gives customers control "of how they navigate their own journeys as part of the energy transition. They can choose the fuel types that work best for them, their businesses and their goals."
Cummins’ fuel-agnostic engines feature a series of engine versions derived from a common base engine. Component similarity below the head gasket will drive down production costs and help reduce the learning curve for technicians, while the engine build from the head gasket up will be dependent on the fuel spec. Each engine version will operate using a single fuel only. Fuel flexibility will come from three primary sources: diesel fuel, natural gas and hydrogen.
The next generation advanced diesel X15 will feature improved greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency benefits while retaining the same ratings of the current X15 (up to 605 horsepower and 2,050 lb.-ft. of torque), and optimizing powertrain integration with Eaton Cummins and Cummins-Meritor. The X15 architecture utilizes a belt-driven, high output 48-volt alternator and aftertreatment heater solution, optimized for increasingly stringent emission standards.
Hexagon Agility, a provider of natural gas fuels systems, has received new orders for natural gas fuel system installations on pilot trucks powered by Cummins’ X15N natural gas engine. The X15N is currently available through Peterbilt and Kenworth dealers for delivery later this year. It will be available on Freightliner trucks in 2025.
Introduced in October 2021, the X15N natural gas engine is capable of up to 500 hp and 1,850 lb.-ft. of torque and is also the basis for a recently announced hydrogen internal combustion engine currently under development at Cummins.
"Hydrogen can be the fuel of the future... in the next 5 to 10 years," Beaman said, noting there were infrastructure challenges to overcome in "making hydrogen commercially viable." As the hydrogen infrastructure matures, Beaman pointed to natural gas – what she called "a paver of the way to hydrogen" – as a green energy placeholder that too faces some infrastructure challenges, although not as steep. "From an infrastructure perspective, what we really need to see is more fueling stations," she said, noting there's fewer than 2,000 natural gas fueling stations, many of which are private.
Despite the world seemingly turning its attentions to zero emission solutions like battery electric, "Our engines are here for some time," said Brett Merritt, president of Cummins' Engine Business. "Diesel and natural gas will be the primary propulsion for many years to come."
