This past Monday, President Biden paid a visit to the Cummins plant in Fridley, Minnesota, as part of his administration’s Investing in America tour. Coinciding with the visit, Cummins announced that in addition to recent investments in Fridley, the company is investing more than $1 billion across its U.S. engine manufacturing network in Indiana, North Carolina and New York. The investment will provide upgrades to those facilities to support the industry’s first fuel agnostic engine platforms that will run on low carbon fuels, including natural gas, diesel and eventually hydrogen, helping decarbonize the nation’s truck fleets today.
“The historic investments included in those pieces of legislation played a key role in our decision to manufacture products here in the U.S., creating more clean-tech jobs and positively impacting our communities,” said Jennifer Rumsey, president and CEO. “The electrolyzer production in Minnesota and investment in our Indiana, North Carolina and New York facilities are reflective of our dual path approach of advancing both engine-based and zero-emission solutions – an approach that is best for all of our stakeholders and our impact on the planet. We can’t do this alone and are grateful for the continued partnership and collaboration with congressional leaders and the Biden Administration.”
The announcement includes Cummins’ plans to invest $452 million in its Jamestown Engine Plant (JEP) to upgrade its 998,000-square-foot facility in Western New York to produce the industry’s first fuel-agnostic internal combustion engine platform that leverages a range of lower carbon fuel types. The X15N is part of the new fuel-agnostic 15-liter engine platform produced at JEP.
Cummins customers, including Walmart, Werner, Matheson, and National Ready Mix, among others, are beginning to test the very first engines of the fuel agnostic platform, the X15N. Walmart will receive the very first field test unit later in April to take part in the field test of this industry-first, 15-liter advanced engine platform running on renewable natural gas.
