| Navigating a zero-carbon future involves overcoming challenges in infrastructure, technology, and economics. The cover story advocates the Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine as a pivotal zero-emission solution for Indian Commercial Vehicles (CV), fostering a greener tomorrow.By- Nitin Jirafe,Engine Business Leader,Cummins India
Over the past decade, the Indian automotive industry has undergone a remarkable evolution, shaped by dynamic economic, technological and regulatory forces. The period witnessed a shift from traditional internal combustion engines to a burgeoning interest in electric and low carbon fuel technologies, driven by environmental concerns and advancements in technology.
Furthermore, the regulatory push on stringent vehicle emission norms from the Govt. of India not only compelled manufacturers to adopt cleaner technologies but also spurred innovations in fuel efficiency and emission control. In a nutshell, the evolution of the Indian automotive industry in the last decade has been characterized by a transition towards cleaner and smarter mobility solutions, reflecting a global trend towards sustainability and technological innovation.
Climate change is the existential crisis of our times
Climate change has emerged as a pivotal force driving the implementation of stringent emission norms worldwide. The alarming rise in greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from the combustion of fossil fuels, has intensified the need for proactive measures. Governments globally recognize the automotive sector’s significant contribution to emissions, prompting the establishment of stringent regulations to curb pollutants like NOx, PM, and others. Emission norms, such as Euro standards and Bharat Stage standards, have been pivotal tools in managing these pollutants so far.
However, over the last few years with the focus on climate change and GHG emissions, governments and Industry participants are now focusing on decarbonisation. Governments and Industry are now working towards cleaner technologies and fostering the development and adoption of low carbon and zero emission vehicle technologies, thus steering the automotive industry toward a more sustainable future.
CV industry’s contribution to climate change
Needless to say, climate change has had profound effects on India, which is ranked among the top ten countries in the world most affected by climate change. The four major sectors that are the major contributors to the carbon footprint of the country and need to heavily focus on decarbonization are Energy (electricity), mobility & transportation, Steel, Cement and Infrastructure industry.
Transport sector is backbone for growth of any economy and with the same accounting for nearly 14% of total Greenhouse gas emissions it provides an opportunity to the road transport sector in participating and contributing towards the decarbonization journey.
The need for decarbonisation and the pursuit of alternate fuels and technologies
The automotive industry has been working for decades to reduce the harmful pollutants including carbon footprint. There have been significant technological advancements in base Internal combustion engines as well as after-treatment technologies. The Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) and Particulate Matter (PM) emissions have gone down by a staggering 90% for current BS6 vehicles launched in year 2020 as compared to BS3 vehicles allowed to sell till year 2017.
Apart from conventional fuels, many alternate fuels are either already being used or planned for future (like CNG, LNG, Ethanol Flex Fuel, Biofuels, Hydrogen etc.) apart from zero emission technologies of BEV and FCEV using electricity from grid and hydrogen.
B6.7H Engine
For these zero emission technologies, it’s important to ensure zero carbon emissions for entire well to wheel. This means that government needs to focus on decarbonisation of the electricity grid with renewable energy for supplying electricity to BEVs and encourage production of green hydrogen.
There is no single silver bullet
Cummins believes that transitioning to a zero-carbon future is not a light-switch event, given the challenges on infrastructure, technology maturity and unit economics. With over a century of experience as a global power leader and a six-decade presence in India, we understand, better than anyone else that to address the varied duty cycles, applications, and operating environments, there will not be single solution to reach zero emissions. Therefore, progressing and integrating various technologies today will contribute towards a greener future tomorrow.
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. This strategy is part of the framework of Cummins’ broader PLANET 2050 environmental sustainability strategy, which also includes a focus on improving the communities the company operates in and using natural resources in the most responsible way.
Multiple paths to decarbonisation
We understand that when it comes to lowering GHG, it’s not a matter of which technology is better — but rather which technology is more suitable to a specific set of application and needs. We have to consider range, weight, downtime, performance requirements, customer economics, and related infrastructure to provide the best options for the market. Therefore, we as Cummins are working to develop and improve multiple technologies for myriad applications.
Our multiple paths to decarbonization include:
- Switch to the latest generation Diesel technology- Advanced Diesel (Diesel / Bio-Diesel)
- Immediate shift to Low – Carbon Technology – Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine (CNG / LNG / Bio-CNG)
- Move to Zero carbon fuel (Innovation in Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) technology – Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine
- Leap forward to Zero Emission Vehicles – Fuel Cell and Battery Electric and Electrloyzer
Achieving zero carbon emission with Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine
In road transportation sector, while battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are known to be zero emission technology vehicles, there is an emergence of hydrogen internal combustion engines (H2 ICE) as a viable, near zero carbon emission technology solution for commercial vehicles in India. At scale, it can help the sector rapidly decarbonize. In fact, vehicles powered by green hydrogen, which is hydrogen produced by using renewable energy have near zero well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions.
Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) is increasingly finding its acceptance in the passenger cars, two / three wheelers, Small commercial vehicles, and City Bus applications in India. However, they are yet to be proven commercially viable for the Medium and Heavy-duty truck/tipper applications, due to reasons like penalty on payload, charging time required, total cost of ownership etc.
Bridging technology for India’s commercial vehicle sector
Fuel cell (FCEV) uses hydrogen to produce onboard electricity to power the vehicles. Fuel cell powered bus deployment has started in India, though in limited numbers. While electrification (BEVs) & fuel cell (FCEV) technologies continue to mature and become affordable, Hydrogen internal combustion engine, built on the fuel agnostic platform is the promising bridging technology for India’s commercial vehicle sector.
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 to a high degree of parts commonality.
The key advantages of H2 ICE are as follows:
- Existing engine hardware can be modified to adapt H2 fuel / combustion system
- Existing vehicle drive lines can be used
- Availability of eco system (existing manufacturing set-up, vendor base, dealer & service network)
- Diesel like performance across power, torque and thermal efficiency
- Cost efficient & Total cost of ownership (TCO) comparable to existing Diesel / CNG variants
- Can use low purity hydrogen
- Quick refilling time compared to Battery charging for BEV’s
Towards a better today and a greener tomorrow
If majority of our trucks switch to H2 ICE, it will automatically spur the establishment of a hydrogen infrastructure ecosystem. The infrastructure would include fuel transportation network, fueling stations, and repair shops – very similar to the support system that exists for diesel truck today. To a large extent, development of H2 ICE will also support the development of Fuel cell (and vice versa) as both technologies have many things in common. For example, hydrogen infrastructure (fuel production, transportation & dispensation) & vehicle level hydrogen storage systems are common between these two technologies.
Development of the hydrogen ecosystem will need government and policy support. Given the support, hydrogen internal combustion engines will drive decarbonization at a faster rate and will be a key enabler to achieve India’s objective of Net Zero GHG by year 2070.
Cummins’ mission is to make people’s lives better by powering a more prosperous world. A prosperous world requires, necessitates… demands a healthier planet. And that’s why Cummins is focused on investing in innovation for a better today and a greener tomorrow and is well poised to power a cleaner and greener India.
