Cummins lands federal funding for fuel cell tech
COLUMBUS, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a total of nearly $7 million to Columbus-based Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI). The company says the funding will support its work on “enhancing economic viability of fuel cell powertrain solutions for heavy-duty applications.”
The funding comes from the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The projects benefiting from the awards are part of the DOE’s “H2@Scale” initiative, which aims to develop affordable hydrogen production, storage, distribution and use.
“Programs like ‘H2@Scale’ are essential to gain the scale and investment needed that will lead to faster adoption of hydrogen fuel cell technologies,” said Amy Davis, president of new power at Cummins. “The work we are doing with the DOE and our partners will help improve cost and operational performance of hydrogen fuel cell technologies to achieve greater parity with other available power solutions.”
Cummins has received $3.5 million for the development of an integrated fuel cell electric powertrain for heavy-duty trucks and transit buses. The company says the goal is to develop a “highly manufacturable and scalable” solution with a proven range of 300 miles or more and improved fuel economy.
The DOE has also awarded Cummins $3 million to develop and validate a high-pressure, modular, 100 kW proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack and system for heavy-duty applications. According to company’s website, hydrogen gas passes through the stack and mixes with atmospheric oxygen to generate electricity.
Cummins says the goal is to optimize the fuel cell stack for efficiency, power density, space and cost.
The company says both technologies will play a key role in its PLANET 2050 initiative.