Cummins aboard the e-bus express

It’s all aboard the e-bus express in Australia and New Zealand as electric buses seem to be on an unstoppable rise, with an almost bewildering array of supplier promises and products dominating the public transport scene.

The overwhelming trend towards the rapid electrification of public transport bus fleets is happening globally as governments commit to a zero emissions future with bold plans and increasing action to decarbonise bus fleets. In Australia and New Zealand, governments have established clear timelines to decarbonise their fleets and have committed heavily to both trials and purchases of zero-emission buses.

So where does that leave Cummins, the largest single supplier of diesel engines to the Australian bus and coach industry? 

“Cummins is perfectly positioned to be a key player in the electric bus market, wherever that market is globally and whether it be with battery-electric or hydrogen fuel cell electric technology,” says Andrew Steele, Bus and Coach business manager for Cummins Asia Pacific.

Cummins is investing billions of dollars in alternative powertrain technologies as it commits to net-zero carbon by 2050 under its Destination Zero strategy which is to go further, faster to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) and air quality impacts of its products.

“Technological innovation, brand reputation and credibility are core to Cummins’ history, and they are now more important than ever as new technologies and suppliers emerge in the burgeoning market,” he says. 

“Cummins has built up and acquired excellent capabilities in electrification, hydrogen fuel cells, and hydrogen generation technologies to accelerate the path to zero emissions. The acquisition of Meritor is also bringing some fantastic electric powertrain components into the Cummins  family.”

In the US, hundreds of school buses feature Cummins’ battery-electric technology while the country’s leading producer of heavy-duty transit buses, Gillig, last year celebrated the delivery of its 100th electric bus in partnership with Cummins. 

While all the buzz is around electrification, there are challenges in adopting electric vehicles at scale, including purchase cost, energy supply infrastructure, electricity grid impacts, and skilling up to maintain and operate a fleet of electric buses. 

“While Cummins is accelerating the transition to zero-emission technologies, we do acknowledge many operators are heavily invested in their existing diesel fleets which will remain in service for many years. In the short-term, there may also be a need to purchase new diesel buses while some of the challenges of getting to zero-emissions are resolved,” says Andrew Steele.

“Either way, Cummins diesel engines will continue to provide increasingly clean, affordable power to customers in the decades ahead and Cummins is committed to supporting those customers.”  
Cummins sees the internal combustion engine (ICE) as an important transitory technology before Destination Zero is reached. 

“Net-zero emissions is the ultimate goal, however the pathway to this target may require some transition through lower carbon solutions, while the technology and infrastructure challenges of zero emissions vehicles are solved,” he says.

“There are still significant gains Cummins can achieve with diesel internal combustion engine technology in reducing atmospheric pollutants. Our Euro 6 engine, for example, slashes particulate matter by 50% and oxides of nitrogen by 80% compared with the Euro 5 engine.”

Cummins is developing ‘fuel agnostic’ platforms for its new-gen B, L and X-series engines. Each engine series will be available with diesel, natural gas or hydrogen fuelling while achieving high parts commonality. For each engine series, everything below the head gasket will be common components, while above the head gasket will be different components for the specific fuel type.

As Cummins pursues its aspiration to power customer success with net-zero emission technologies by 2050, Srikanth Padmanabhan, President of Cummins Inc. Engine Business, states: “Getting to zero is not a light-switch event. Carbon emissions that we put into the atmosphere today will have a lasting impact. This means anything we can do to start reducing the carbon footprint today is a win for the planet.

“Having a variety of lower carbon options is particularly important considering the variation in duty cycles and operating environments across the many markets we serve. There is no single solution or ‘magic bullet’ that will work for all application types or all end users.”