Photo: Cummins
The internal combustion engine had its days, but the journey is about to end as the EV era dawns. Ever since this has become clear, the automotive industry, as well as big oil, have scrambled to save the combustion engine and everything that comes with it. In the latest move, Cummins has announced a fuel-agnostic internal combustion engine that can basically run on any fuel.
Despite the obvious, there are still people who strongly believe battery-operated electric vehicles are not the best solution for saving the environment. They are partly right, but the alternative is not better suited to save the Earth either. Despite that, major engine producers are hard at work to develop stopgaps that can keep the internal combustion engine running, or at least cutting down on carbon dioxide emissions. This includes better engine architectures, but also using sustainable fuels, like e-fuels, or even hydrogen.
Cummins is one of the biggest players in the internal combustion engine field and it recently announced plans to switch to hydrogen. There are challenges ahead, as hydrogen burns differently than other fuels. That’s why Cummins designed an optimized combustion chamber for fuel mixing, charge motion, and turbulence generation in the engine.
In the meantime, the American engine manufacturer went even further and has unveiled what it calls a “fuel-agnostic” engine. This is an engine platform that can burn any fuel, although not all at the same time. This means the engine is almost the same no matter what fuel it uses, but with slight adaptions for every type of fuel. This saves development time and production money and allows for increased flexibility for Cummins’ customers.
No matter the fuel, these engines will feature the same base below the head gasket. What differs according to the fuel used is what’s above the head gasket. This is necessary for optimized burning and improved efficiency, adapting to every fuel’s characteristics. Cummins will apply this design approach across the company’s legendary B, L, and X-Series engine portfolios, which will be available for diesel, natural gas, and hydrogen.
Depending on the fuel type, these engines will be more or less clean, but that does not change the fact that internal combustion engines have an intrinsic low efficiency. And, of course, any gas burning will release harmful NOx and particles into the atmosphere.
Cummins is one of the biggest players in the internal combustion engine field and it recently announced plans to switch to hydrogen. There are challenges ahead, as hydrogen burns differently than other fuels. That’s why Cummins designed an optimized combustion chamber for fuel mixing, charge motion, and turbulence generation in the engine.
In the meantime, the American engine manufacturer went even further and has unveiled what it calls a “fuel-agnostic” engine. This is an engine platform that can burn any fuel, although not all at the same time. This means the engine is almost the same no matter what fuel it uses, but with slight adaptions for every type of fuel. This saves development time and production money and allows for increased flexibility for Cummins’ customers.
No matter the fuel, these engines will feature the same base below the head gasket. What differs according to the fuel used is what’s above the head gasket. This is necessary for optimized burning and improved efficiency, adapting to every fuel’s characteristics. Cummins will apply this design approach across the company’s legendary B, L, and X-Series engine portfolios, which will be available for diesel, natural gas, and hydrogen.
Depending on the fuel type, these engines will be more or less clean, but that does not change the fact that internal combustion engines have an intrinsic low efficiency. And, of course, any gas burning will release harmful NOx and particles into the atmosphere.
Google News