COLUMBUS, Ind. — Cummins Inc. has unveiled plans for how it intends to ramp up its fuel cell and hydrogen production business in the coming years amid a global push to curb greenhouse gas emissions and avert the threat of catastrophic climate change.
The plans, which company officials outlined Monday during a virtual conference, largely involve investing in and producing technology they believe will help the company secure its place in a world that is shifting away from fossil fuels.
Cummins, which is based in Columbus and is the largest employer in the area, expects green hydrogen to play an important role in cutting emissions in some of the industries that are most dependent on fossil fuels and now face strict climate targets in many countries.
Two of the clean energy technologies that company officials discussed on Monday include electrolyzers — which use electricity to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen — and hydrogen fuel cells — which essentially put the two elements back together to produce electricity and power a motor.
Cummins projects that its electrolyzer business will have about $400 million in annual revenues within the next five years, said Cummins Chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger on Monday.
Additionally, the company plans to ship fuel cell systems for at least 100 trains, mainly in Europe, by 2025, the company said.
At present, the company says it has more than 2,000 fuel cell installations globally and more than 500 electrolyzer installations in fueling stations on five continents, including the first fueling stations in Scotland, Sweden, Norway and Southeast Asia.
“All in all, hydrogen technologies, particularly electrolyzers, will be a fast growing and increasingly important part of our business over the next few years,” Linebarger said. “…Simply put, Cummins is ready for a world in which hydrogen adoption accelerates and we’re well positioned to drive this change.”
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
