Cummins’ New State-Of-The-Art Facility Will Help Power Systems Meet Sustainability Goals

Cummins’ Destination Zero Strategy commits the company to meeting the world’s sustainability
challenges by delivering a broad portfolio of innovative power solutions. Recently, Cummins Inc.
celebrated the grand opening of its new microgrid lab called the Power Integration Center (PIC)
at their Power Systems facility in Fridley, Minnesota (U.S.).

“The PIC is the realization of a significant investment in engineering technology and innovation
that will impact how companies use and build power systems to meet sustainability goals for a
greener future,” said Gary Johansen, Vice President – Power Systems Engineering and Project
Sponsor.

With changing governmental regulations, increasing cost of operation, inclement weather
conditions, and the instability of power grids, customers are driving the need for more reliable
and efficient microgrid solutions. The Power Integration Center allows the ability to experiment
with multiple potential power system solutions directly along with Cummins engineers. This
allows for timesaving, cost-saving, and the ability to optimize a unique power system for their
project.

The PIC is a state-of-the-art facility allowing for the configuration, integration, and testing of
power system technologies including diesel and natural gas generator sets, photovoltaic (PV)
solar panels, battery storage systems, fuel cells, transfer switches, switchgear, and system-level
controls.

The facility spans 20,000 square feet of lab space including an outdoor test area, main
switchgear room, electrical mezzanine, and engineering control room. Many different types of
assets such as generator sets, energy storage systems, fuel cells, and inverters can be brought
in for testing in a wide variety of possible microgrid configurations.

“We are always looking for ways to react to the needs of the market and improve our business,
added Johansen. “Our customers are placing an even higher value on flexible and well-
integrated solutions and this center will help us speed up the time it takes to deliver those new
solutions.”