Cummins Newsroom: Our Innovation, Technology and Services

3 innovations that have shaped the advanced diesel engines of today

Apr 10, 2023 by Cummins Inc., Global Power Technology Leader

Today’s modern diesel engine is an impressive feat of innovation. Cummins Inc. is no stranger to innovation. In fact, the company spends $1 billion annually on research and technology across its product portfolio with 11,000 of the brightest engineers innovating for their customers. Today the company is taking a look at three of the innovations that have shaped the advanced diesel engines that are relied upon by so many different industries.

1. Digital Tools

The advent of the computer age revolutionized many industries and had an incredible impact on diesel engines. Integrating computer components into diesel engines improved the efficiency and overall performance. The computer in your diesel engine integrates with the ignition system, fuel injection process, emission system, transmission, exhaust system and more. Beyond these basic integrations, computer technology has optimized the advanced diesel engines of today with additional digital hardware, applications and capabilities, mobile applications, and digital hardware. Cummins offers a full suite of digital products and capabilities* that enhance the entire life of your Cummins engine. These include:

Remote Engine Monitoring

Cummins now offers PrevenTech®, its newest remote engine monitoring and advanced analytics tool. PrevenTech® helps enhance operational efficiency for applications including trucking and mining by using connectivity and data to monitor equipment health remotely and connect our customers to the industry’s largest service network.

Predictive Service

Cummins now offers industry-first Predictive Service Insights, which alert truck fleets and service locations when specific components are likely to fail – providing a service recommendation allowing them to plan a replacement before an actual failure occurs. This technology is powered by data directly from the engine – helping customers avoid unplanned and costly downtime. These insights are available via PrevenTech® and can be found in Cummins’ genuine services tools including Guidanz^®, INLINE^®, and Quickserve Online.

Over-the-Air Capabilities

In the past, if you wanted to update the ECM (engine control module) software or engine parameters on a vehicle, you had to bring it to a service center or in-house repair location. Now, you can complete both of these service tasks over the air with Cummins’ application OptiTech^®. OptiTech^® allows you to update ECM software and a program a range of engine parameters from anywhere, using over-the-air technology. Allowing customers to adjust for changing terrain, duty cycles or driving preferences.

New Engine Technology

In February of 2020, Cummins announced its first connectivity-enabled X15 Efficiency series engine and new Endurant™ HD powertrain for Freightliner Trucks. This innovative technology included Cummins’ advanced engine computing module, known as Acumen^®. This connects to Cummins’ technology platform for direct access to digital apps, over the air product enhancements, and future service integrations; able to securely communicate information through cellular connectivity, engines with Acumen® provide a deeper understanding of how vehicles operate in different environments and varying duty cycles. The new insights will be used to enhance machine learning and deliver more customized products and services.

*Your engine may not be eligible for all of Cummins’ digital products and capabilities. Please check with a Cummins representative, your original equipment manufacturer, or telematics service provider.

2. Emissions Reduction

Today's clean diesel engines emit 90% less harmful emissions that the engines produced before the year 2000. The aim of reducing emissions has led to increased efficiencies without sacrificing performance. Advancements in technology and clean diesel technology have helped diesel engines continue to improve. Important emissions reduction innovations by Cummins include:

Optimized Powertrain Functionality

Technology has played a vital role in helping reduce emissions. The new smart powertrains with Acumen® and Endurant™ HD improve fuel economy and significantly reduce emissions. For example, predictive gear shifting uses a combination of cameras, sensors, and traffic data to proactively upshift or downshift a vehicle based on upcoming road conditions. It allows the gears to change automatically, improving fuel efficiency and reducing mechanical straining on the transmission and associated parts. Other unique Cummins powertrain features include On-Ramp Boost, dynamic power, and hill roll-out.

Aftertreatment Systems

Emissions standards continue to evolve, meaning commercial vehicles with old diesel engine specifications aren’t up to the current standard. That’s why Cummins offers a wide range of aftertreatment technologies to meet these constantly evolving regulations. These aftertreatment systems contain Cummins Particulate Filter, which collects and oxidizes carbon to remove particulate matter by more than 90%. Once the particulate matter is removed, there is still nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide left in the exhaust. In order to reduce these levels, an injection process introduces urea to convert these toxic emissions into harmless nitrogen gas and water vapor. This effectively eliminates harmful emissions resulting in reduced emissions from the exhaust.

3. Fuel-agnostic Engines

Derived from the diesel engine working principle, Cummins fuel-agnostic engine platforms are intentionally designed with commonality in mind. The series of engine versions come from a common base engine, sharing many of the same parts and components below the head gasket. Above the head gasket, there are different components for different fuel sources, allowing customers to choose from diesel, natural gas, and hydrogen to customize their transitions to zero emissions. Built on a legacy of innovation and dependability, Cummins leveraged research and insights from the millions of diesel and natural gas engines they have manufactured to design these reliable, fuel-agnostic platforms. This is an industry first, and this technology approach will be applied across Cummins’ product portfolio.

Cummins: Envisioning the Future of Diesel Engines in the U.S. and Beyond

Always innovating. That’s not just a slogan for Cummins, it’s their default setting. The company knows the future pulls us forward, and in order to keep up, Cummins must constantly meet that challenge. However good Cummins is today, they know the best is yet to come. The innovations listed above are just the beginning for the company, and they’re excited to continually reinvent the future of advanced diesel engines. Learn more about Cummins and their vision for the future.

Cummins Inc.

Cummins, a global power technology leader, is a corporation of complementary business segments that design, manufacture, distribute and service a broad portfolio of power solutions. The company’s products range from internal combustion, electric and hybrid integrated power solutions and components including filtration, aftertreatment, turbochargers, fuel systems, controls systems, air handling systems, automated transmissions, electric power generation systems, microgrid controls, batteries, electrolyzers and fuel cell products.

Cummins Newsroom: Our Innovation, Technology and Services

Cummins Custompaks are being used for water management as Thailand struggles with its water crisis

Jul 10, 2024 by Cummins Inc., Global Power Technology Leader

Water crisis

Sixty Cummins Inc. CustomPaks are in service in Thailand as part of a critical water management plan aimed at easing the country’s water crisis – a crisis that has caused enormous economic and social damage and stirred conflict among communities.

Over the past several decades, Thailand has continually faced water problems caused by severe drought. Water reserves in dams and reservoirs are insufficient while water resources are often contaminated with toxins caused by urban communities and the industrial and agricultural sectors.

Severe flooding is a threat, too, at a time when the realities of climate change are hanging over the country.

As a result, the allocation of precious water resources, which must be shared among various stakeholders including new and existing industry, large and small agriculture, and cities and villages has become a flashpoint.

Kittithanapat Engineering Co. (KTP), has been involved in the water management system since 1996, working closely with authorities such as the Royal Irrigation Department, Department of Water Resources, Bangkok Metropolitan Authority and others.

600 hp CustomPaks

To help KTP meet its often urgent requirements, Cummins DKSH (Thailand) has recently supplied 60 Australian-built CustomPaks – 45 powered by Cummins’ X15 engine rated at 600 hp, and 15 powered by the QSL9 rated at 325 hp. These fully self-contained powerpacks are emissions certified to Tier 3.

The CustomPaks are coupled to hydraulically-driven, large-volume submersible water pumps sourced by KTP from US company Moving Water Industries (MWI); KTP is the exclusive distributor in Thailand for these MWI Hydroflo pumps.

Prior to Cummins’ involvement, KTP was using another diesel engine brand but service support wasn’t up to the standard required.

Long-serving KTP engineer Kittisak Thanasoot says Cummins DKSH’s reputation for technical and aftersales support along with the reliability of the Cummins product were a key reason behind KTP’s decision to specify the CustomPaks for the Royal Irrigation Department.

The ability of Cummins DKSH to respond to short delivery times was also important.

“Supplying large quantities of high horsepower diesel engines for emergency situations such as flash flooding can be a challenge for KTP,” says Kittisak Thanasoot.

“Responding to the needs of the government agencies to manage such problems in a timely manner and with least impact on communities, KTP has found the answer in our partnership with Cummins DKSH.”

Power, pride and passion

Jun 17, 2024 by Cummins Inc., Global Power Technology Leader

The switch back to Cummins power has been beneficial for iconic New Zealand company Uhlenberg Haulage. It's all about whole-of-life costs.

Uhlenberg Haulage is closing in on 60 years in business, having been founded in 1966 by Mike and Carol Uhlenberg.

Based in Eltham, Taranaki, in New Zealand’s North Island, the operation is today owned and operated by their sons Chris, Daryl and Tony Uhlenberg.

Describing the Uhlenbergs as “old school family truckies”, Daryl talks about the company’s time-honored journey with a definite tone of pride, especially the work of his parents in laying the foundations for what is today an iconic fleet in its own right.

Cummins Inc. made its debut in the Uhlenberg fleet in 1971 with an NH250 powering a second-hand Kenworth K923 used in logging. A second Kenworth, a new W924 with a Cummins NTC335, followed soon after hauling an LPG tanker.

The Uhlenberg operation today comprises 40 prime movers and a variety of trailing gear to cater for the myriad of a jobs the fleet is involved in.

A number of Peterbilts feature in the fleet although Kenworth is now the brand of choice with six new units to be delivered over the next 12 months to cater for business growth.

Cummins’ X15 Euro 5 engine rated at 550 or 600 hp is the preferred power specification, with 18 red engines currently in the fleet.

Whole-of-life support

“The switch to Cummins has been a very good experience for us. We have nothing but praise for the Cummins organization,” says Daryl.

“The whole-of-life picture is the key thing for us and we’ve got that nailed with the support we get from Cummins – parts availability, scheduled maintenance, life expectancy and in-frame rebuilds.

“So the red engines turn up, we run them to life, which is 900,000 to 1.2 million kilometers, and then Cummins does an in-frame overhaul in a timely manner. If there’s an issue, parts and support are close by.

“The support we get from Cummins Palmerston North is fantastic, second to none.”

Daryl recently looked under a Kenworth that was in the workshop for a service and was surprised to see no oil leaking from the one-million-kilometer X15. “I remember when I was a fitter we had to wear a raincoat when working under a truck,” he jokes.

Fuel agnostic

Acknowledging that the push to decarbonize is now “very real”, Daryl likes the idea of Cummins’ fuel agnostic concept where one base internal combustion engine, optimized to run on diesel, can also be customized to run on ultra-low and zero-carbon fuels like renewable natural gas and hydrogen.

“My father was a pioneer of linehaul trucking in New Zealand and he always embraced new technology. He was never scared of it,” he says.

“I tend to be a little more cautious but I can see where a 500 hp natural gas or hydrogen engine would work for us in short haul applications,” he admits. “We’re certainly willing to look closely at these alternative fuel technologies when suitable infrastructure is in place.”