Cummins case study

 Problem

Our modern world is largely built around and powered by fossil fuels. For the longest time this has worked well but in recent years we have learnt more about the harm that is being done to the planet and its inhabitants by the burning of these fuels. As we grow more knowledgeable about the effects of our use of fossil fuels the world has begun to look for greener alternatives. While we have had some success in finding green alternatives, heavy engines are still a major consumer of fossil fuels. 

Unfortunately, we cannot simply stop our use of heavy engines. While it is possible for us to reduce our need for them, it is not realistic for us to end the use of these engines. These types of engines are used to help grow and harvest our food, build our cities, defend our nations, transport goods to wherever they are needed, and many also serve many other purposes. Put lightly these engines are essential to our lives in more ways than we often consider, but that doesn’t make them pollute any less, so what are we to do? The answer to that question is that we need to innovate.

 

Solution 

Cummins who is already a leading manufacturer of heavy diesel engines is in the process of creating a line of hydrogen engines with the intention of eventually completely eliminating their diesel offerings in favour of hydrogen options. The company developed its first hydrogen power cell nearly twenty years ago, but for the longest time had not seriously pursued it due to a lack of market. Now however the market for green solutions is booming, and it appears that Cummins believes hydrogen power is the best way forward and with very good reason. 

Hydrogen power is extremely clean and when used properly produces zero carbon emissions. The only things produced by the use of hydrogen power are water vapours and heat. In addition to it being an extremely clean form of energy, it has the potential to be used in heavy applications to power trains, tanks, marine vessels, semi-trucks, busses, and almost anything else where heavy diesel engines are currently used. 

 

Unique value proposition 

            As we all know hydrogen power is not the only green energy alternative that is being used today. Currently, it appears that electric power cells are getting the most attention, but hydrogen power has a couple of distinct advantages over battery power. The first major advantage that hydrogen power has over battery power is the time that it takes to refill the energy cells. Unfortunately, battery-powered machines do take time to charge, and even the fastest charging Tesla cars take about fifty minutes to charge when using a supercharger. Keep in mind that this charge time is only for a car and heavy applications will require much more energy and thus likely more charge time. On the contrary, Cummins says that their hydrogen-powered machines will take approximately the same time to refuel as their fossil fuel competitors. This means that hydrogen powered machines will have much less downtime when compared to their electric rivals, but this is only one of the advantages that hydrogen power has. 

            In addition to hydrogen powered machines having substantially less downtime they also have the advantage of being independent of electrical grids. Hydrogen engines have no need for electricity, and Cummins says that ready-to-use hydrogen power can be stored without electricity. With that being said some electricity is needed to move the stored hydrogen into the machinery that will use it. While this may not seem like a huge advantage for machines that operate mostly in major cities like busses for example, for some applications this factor alone could be a decision-maker. If you were working at a remote mining operation and hoping to replace the diesel engines in your machinery with greener alternatives would you go with electric or hydrogen power? Realistically you wouldn’t really have a choice since if you wanted to use electric power you would need to operate a ridiculous number of generators, and that would be inconvenient at best. Additionally, in remote communities hydrogen-powered equipment may also be a very good green alternative.

Unfair advantage 

            Hydrogen power has many advantages over traditional fuel sources, and also has advantages that may make it the preferred power source for heavy applications. Unfortunately for Cummins, other companies may come up with this technology and try to apply it in a similar way. the one thing that potential competitors cannot create, or at least not quickly is the reputation that Cummins has built over the years. The Cummins brand was created over one hundred years ago, and since then has crafted a reputation as an innovator in the diesel industry. They also are currently in a position to be a leader in the market for heavy use hydrogen engines. Most importantly though Cummins already has a major market share in industries that require the use of heavy-duty engines thanks to their reputation of building powerful and extremely reliable engines. 

 

Verdict 

            Cummins is in a position to potentially drastically drop carbon emissions around the world. If they are successful in converting freight ships and semi-trucks to hydrogen power it would be a huge success in our fight towards a greener future. As previously mention though these are not the only applications for these hydrogen engines and many other machines could very reasonably be converted to hydrogen. While this is very exciting hydrogen will likely only remain practical for heavier applications. This is not an issue for Cummins since their market is almost exclusively heavy application engines. However, it does mean that with hydrogen power Cummins will be limited to expanding in the market that they already a part of. 

Overall, I believe that Cummins potentially has an excellent product on their hands. From an environmental perspective, it may very well be a gamechanger. This is because it will allow for diesel engines to be replaced with something that is both greener and offers better performance. At the moment this is difficult to determine for sure since Cummins is currently doing work with numerous prototypes, all of which appear to have been highly successful. While only time will tell how popular and truly effective this product will be, I will be watching it with great excitement.