Cummins Awarded $5M to Continue Scaling Green Hydrogen Productions
Cummins Inc. has made another critical step toward reaching its climate goals and a decarbonized future, as the company was awarded $5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, for the automation of solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) and stack assembly.
This award allows Cummins to further its efforts as a leader in alternative power and a pioneer in green hydrogen technologies.
Cummins’ three-year project aims to automate the manufacturing of SOECs to make production of the electrolyzer systems more efficient, reducing capital costs and facilitating the scale-up of the hydrogen economy.
“To dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet ambitious climate goals, we must invest now in scaling electrolyzer manufacturing and green hydrogen production to create a viable zero-emissions ecosystem,” said Amy Davis, Vice President and President of New Power at Cummins. “Rapid innovation like this will drive the acceleration of the energy transition in the United States and globally.”
Scaling clean hydrogen production, and technologies that utilize it, is a key component of the Biden administration’s commitment to tackling the climate crisis and to Cummins’ own sustainability strategy.
The aim of the Cummins project is the automated assembly of an SOEC stack with low direct labor input, increased cell throughput and a 100% quality control check. Following successful development, the automation concept should enable over 100 MW of electrolyzer production capacity.
These projects also support the DOE’s recently announced Hydrogen Energy Earthshot to reduce the cost and accelerate breakthroughs in the clean hydrogen sector. All 31 projects focus on bridging technical gaps in hydrogen production, storage, distribution and utilization technologies, thereby paving the way toward decarbonization of the electricity sector by 2035.
The Cummins project award complements additional funding the company received from the DOE to support the development of a high-power density inverter, continuing the company’s innovative work to find additional ways to reduce emissions across global power and energy solutions.
