As part of his visit to the Cummins Darlington Campus, the Secretary of State spoke to engineers involved in the development of hydrogen internal combustion engines and was given a site tour of the technical facility to see the practicalities of a hydrogen engine for heavy goods vehicles.
Cummins’ European Technical Centre, located at its Darlington facility, is overseeing a consortium of leading sub-system manufacturers in the UK to achieve commercial viability for hydrogen internal combustion engines. The estimated £14.6 million cost of the technical readiness project has been funded by the Advanced Propulsion Centre award of £7.2 million and additional investment by Cummins and industry partners.
Rt Hon Mark Harper MP, Secretary of State for Transport, said: “The UK is at the cutting-edge of hydrogen innovation that will help grow the economy. It was great to see this first-hand at Cummins and meet inspiring apprentices who are learning key skills for the future of transport technology. Through its Destination Zero strategy, Cummins is continuing to advance the internal combustion engine technology it’s renowned for, with further advancements in efficiency, as well as compatibility with cleaner fuels like hydrogen, bio-diesel and hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). At the same time, the company continues to develop innovations in zero-emissions solutions like hydrogen fuel cell and battery technology to drive advancements in capability, lower costs, and boost the development of supporting infrastructure.
Wayne Spooner, technical director, Darlington Technical Operations, said: “We were delighted to host the Secretary of State for Transport and showcase the exciting innovations underway in Darlington. We are incredibly proud of our R&D work being done to ensure low and zero-carbon technology becomes an everyday reality, and we are grateful to our fantastic apprentices who are helping to make this possible.”
The Cummins Darlington campus includes an engine and exhaust aftertreatment plant and technical operations and hosts a range of support staff. There are just under 1900 Cummins employees on site, servicing over 200 customers across more than 40 countries.
