Cummins Inc. announced today, Aug. 13, that it will add selective catalytic reduction (SCR) aftertreatment to its heavy-duty products for 2010 to deliver the best fuel efficiency for its customers.
Cummins says it will combine recent advancements in catalyst technology with its engine systems, providing customers with significant fuel economy improvements, in addition to meeting the near-zero emissions levels required by the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2010 regulations. Cummins Emission Solutions, a provider of SCR systems, will supply integrated exhaust aftertreatment systems for Cummins heavy-duty and midrange engines.
The company says its decision to go with heavy-duty SCR engines to meet EPA-mandated 2010 emissions and NOx guidelines was made quickly – in the past two weeks – based on data establishing the superiority of new copper zeolite emissions technology compared to conventional iron zeolite technology commonly used in SCR particulate filters. Zeolites are, in essence, materials that act as molecular filtration systems. Copper zeolite technology emerged about two years ago as engineers sought more efficient exhaust gas filtration systems and became available for automotive applications late last year.
Among its advantages, Cummins says copper zeolite-based SCR systems will offer improved heat rejection, lighter weight and fuel economy increases from 1 to 5 percent, based on application and duty cycles, when compared to other SCR- and EGR-equipped engines.
“With diesel fuel costs averaging between $4 and $5 a gallon, even a 1 percent savings in fuel costs can be tremendous for truck fleets,” says Jeff Jones, vice president of sales and marketing communications for Columbus, Ind.-based Cummins. “If a truck is burning 20,000 gallons of fuel a year, then a 1 percent increase in fuel economy will bring $1,000 per truck back to the company’s bottom line annually.” Jones notes that Cummins has more than 200,000 SCR-equipped engines currently running in heavy-duty commercial truck applications in Europe and will leverage that knowledge in the development of its 2010 North American product lines.
“The advantages of copper zeolite emissions technology was too compelling to ignore,” says Ed Pence, vice president and general manager of Cummins’ Heavy-Duty Engine Business. “Cummins’ decision to move rapidly to integrate this technology into our engine platforms – including midrange and heavy-duty offerings – highlights our agility and capability to respond to market demands and our commitment to meet customer demands.”
As previously announced, Cummins’ heavy-duty 2007 ISX will serve as the basic 2010 engine platform with the copper zeolite SCR system integrated into a comprehensive emissions solutions package, including the company’s proprietary XPI fuel system, cooled exhaust gas recirculation, the Cummins VGT turbocharger, the Cummins particulate filter and advanced electronic controls designed to enhance performance, fuel economy and reliability.
“Cummins’ expertise in engine system integration means that we have the capability to make the engine systems and aftertreatment technologies work together seamlessly,” says Steve Charlton, vice president of heavy-duty engineering for Cummins. “The addition of the new SCR catalyst technology ensures that Cummins will deliver the best fuel economy in the industry and total operating cost benefits to our customers.”
“Our 2010 engine development is progressing on plan, and customers can depend on Cummins to deliver these new products on time, with the reliability, performance and fuel economy that they have come to expect from us,” Pence says.
At least four other manufacturers – Daimler (Detroit Diesel), Paccar, Volvo and Mack – will use SCR. One other manufacturer – Navistar (International) – says it will rely on high-pressure fuel injection systems to reduce NOx through enhanced cooled EGR, without an aftertreatment in heavy-duty applications. Cummins already had announced plans to use SCR in medium-duty applications.
In June, Caterpillar announced that it would not supply engines to on-highway original equipment manufacturers in North America, effective with EPA’s 2010 mandate.
