Cummins grant seeks clean replacement fuel for heaviest of big rigs

Engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. is up for a $2 million state grant to demonstrate two zero-emission, fuel cell electric heavy trucks capable of delivering bulk cargo cryogenic gas.

The aim of the demonstration project from the California Energy Commission is to replace the heaviest class of diesel trucks, called Class 8, which are capable of hauling loads in excess of 33,001 pounds.

The proposal submitted by Cummins (NYSE: CMI), based in Columbus, Indiana, is from its electrified power division.

Cummins will design, build and test the trucks at its private space at the California Fuel Cell Partnership in West Sacramento. The technology will be demonstrated with trucks used by Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) in Southern California, said Cummins spokeswoman Cecelia Click, via email.

In December, Cummins opened a new 18,000-square-foot space in the California Fuel Cell Partnership building in West Sacramento to develop commercial applications for hydrogen fuel cells for busses and medium-duty and heavy trucks. Cummins has an option for more space in West Sacramento should it need it.

The California Air Resources Board has mandated that truck manufacturers transition from diesel trucks to zero-emission trucks beginning in 2024, with a goal of 100% zero-emission trucks by 2045.

The California Fuel Cell Partnership has a hydrogen fueling station on site.

Cummins has been a longtime member of the California Fuel Cell Partnership, an industry advocacy group founded in 1999.

Cummins, which was founded in 1919, makes truck and train engines, power plants, turbines and other heavy equipment for all kinds of other manufacturers.

The California Energy Commission’s hearing on the proposal is calendared for the commission’s meeting March 9.

Between a 10,000-square-foot location in Dixon and the new location in West Sacramento, Cummins had 80 employees working in the region, and it planned to hire more this year, Cummins said in December.

In a report last year, the California Fuel Cell Partnership said that while big rigs represent only 2% of the vehicles on the road, they generate 9% of greenhouse gas emissions.