Cummins to Reap Fuel Gains From ‘SuperTruck’ Research

This story appears in the March 25 print edition of Transport Topics.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Engine maker Cummins Inc. said it will introduce some of the fruits of its “SuperTruck” research in its upcoming models that will make them more fuel-efficient.

The bulk of the improvements will be included in models in 2016 and 2017, around the time the federal government is expected to tighten its standards for truck engine fuel economy.

Cummins executives said here March 19 at a press event prior to the start of the Mid-America Trucking Show that the research that led to the improvements resulted from a $78 million matching research grant from the U.S. Department of Energy with Paccar unit Peterbilt Motors Co.

Cummins Chief Technical Officer Stephen Charlton said major areas of that research include friction reduction, waste-heat recovery, air handling and diesel particulate filter regeneration.

“Some of the SuperTruck ideas are in use as we speak. There is a continuum,” Charlton said, of research for the future and ideas that are ready now.

Phase one of the federal greenhouse-gas regulation starts January 2014 and part two begins three years later.

SuperTruck is part of a DOE program announced in 2010 offerings grants to original equipment manufacturers and engine makers of more than $187 million for projects to improve fuel efficiency.

The collection of numerous small improvements into one package includes an option for low-viscosity 10W-30 oil, Charlton said. A long-lasting oil that can protect engine parts can create a measurable improvement in efficiency, he said.

A joint statement from Peterbilt and Cummins said the total im-provement in fuel economy — from changes in the truck and the engine — could boost miles per gallon to 10 from a current range of 5.5 to 6.5 mpg. Of that amount, 12  percentage points would come from engine improvements, Cummins said.

Another example of the search for better mileage comes from the new ISX12 G natural-gas engine from Cummins Westport, a joint venture between Cummins and Westport Innovations of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Charlton said the ISX12 G will use “aggressive downspeeding” to run at a sweet spot of 1,000 revolutions per minute — or 100 rpm lower than an earlier similar model — to help improve fuel economy. If an engine can produce enough power to do its job while not working as hard, it will burn less fuel.

The ISX12 G, unveiled last year at MATS, begins limited production in April in Jamestown, N.Y., and full production is scheduled to start in August.

Cummins Westport said March 21 that it has received certification for the ISX12 G from the Environmental Protection Agency that the engine complies with the 2014 federal greenhouse-gas rule.

Asked to describe his goals for this year, Cummins Westport President Jim Arthurs said he anticipates selling “more than hundreds” of the new engine. He said that natural-gas engines were less than 1% of the North American heavy-duty market in 2012, but they should hit 3% to 4% this year and could rise fairly quickly to 8% to 10%.

Cummins Westport now makes three natural-gas truck engines, up to a maximum of 12 liters in size. However, Cummins is also working on a solo effort, the ISX15 G, due out in 2016.

Charlton also said Cummins will stick with spark ignition technology for the ISX15 G, the same technology as used by Cummins Westport. The alternative would be a dual-fuel power plant, such as the 15-liter model Westport makes with a process called high-pressure direct injection and uses compression to ignite the fuel, as in a conventional diesel engine.

Charlton said spark ignition is simpler, needing just one fuel rather than two, and it will also need fewer pollution controls than an engine using even small amounts of diesel.

Cummins executives hinted that the new Cummins-Eaton engine-transmission package is a direct response to truck makers pushing for more vertical integration, or the use of engines and transmissions made by truck makers (3-18, p. 4). While best known for its truck transmissions, Eaton Corp. has long been a major supplier of engine valves to Cummins.

Cummins sells more than 1 million engines a year globally, ranging in size from 2.8 liters for cars in China to a massive 95-liter power plant for locomotives and marine vessels.

Rich Freeland, president of the company’s engine business, said he is under pressure to continuously seek technological improvement. Most North American heavy-duty truck makers are urging customers to buy engines they make.

Cummins can only keep its place as North America’s largest Class 8 engine maker if it offers sophisticated, durable technology, Freeland said.

“We have to bring technology and value to truck makers,” he said.