B.Y.O.V. (Build Your Own Vehicle)
Key Points
- How powertrain components are interchangeable and can fit together like building blocks
- Why Accelera isn’t averse to the “messy middle” within the shift to clean energy
- What makes Accelera and Cummins uniquely equipped to meet customers
Picture a future where building a zero-emissions vehicle feels as simple as snapping together LEGO bricks.
That’s the mindset Accelera by Cummins is bringing to clean energy, offering flexible solutions that meet customers wherever they are in their transition to smarter, cleaner power.
In this episode, Kim and Kat get hands-on with the idea of building electric power systems like DIY kits. From batteries and motors to inverters, they break down how Accelera helps reconfigure powertrains for a cleaner future.
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Additional Resources
- Top benefits of tiered battery designs for commercial electric vehicles
- Accelera to unveil zero-emissions integrated battery electric powertrain for Isuzu F-series medium-duty truck
- Our next breakthrough has a name: Accelera
- Advanced LFP
- Tiered battery platform
- Accelera showcases latest zero-emissions lineup for commercial vehicles at ACT Expo
- Top benefits of tiered battery designs for commercial electric vehicles
Timestamps
(00:00) Introduction
(00:31) Building the future of power like Legos
(02:11) Transitioning from diesel to alternative power
(03:27) Accelera’s role in modular technology
(04:08) Cummins and Accelera's partnership
(05:25) Customizable solutions for companies
(06:06) Kat’s perspective on DIY power solutions
(07:18) Scalability and efficiency in powertrain innovation
(08:34) The complexity of energy transitions
(10:20) Ensuring supportive and adaptable change
(10:45) Accelera’s innovative legacy from Cummins
(11:36) Empowering customers with choices
(12:02) Guiding through the energy transition
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Episode Transcript
Episode transcript
Show ID [00:00:03]: This is Power Onwards, the podcast that unveils how power technology shapes your everyday life. Show ID [00:00:19]: Power Onward. Show ID [00:00:22]: This is Power Onward, the podcast that unveils how power technology shapes your everyday life. Kim [00:00:31]: What if the future of power for commercial transportation was as simple as building with Legos? We've all grown up with Legos following instructions to create something awesome, or maybe even tossing them aside to build something completely new. What if we could apply the same creative freedom to the future of energy? Well, Accelerate by Cummins is pushing the envelope with modular, innovative technologies that bring the energy transition closer by giving companies the power of choice to design their own path to a sustainable future. I'm Kim. Kat [00:01:03]: I'm Kat. Kim [00:01:05]: Kat. The other day I was playing Legos with my nephew and we were just constructing a bunch of things and he was playing with his cars and telling you about engines, and I was like, wait, how old are you again? It brought me back to the conversation that we had the last time you were on the show and we talked about Barbieland and what it would look like if it was powered by Accelera. Let's dig into Legos, but get crazy with it. Kat [00:01:25]: This has to be probably one of the most used analogies on my team. As I said in the last episode, I speak analogies left and right. I always find ways to find examples to draw it in, because part of my job is taking these really complex topics and translating them in a way that anyone can understand. Kim [00:01:46]: Absolutely. Kat [00:01:47]: So when it comes to Legos. Oh, my goodness, I love this. Looks like. So excited. Kim [00:01:54]: Five minutes seeping out of you right now. Kat [00:01:55]: One, I love Legos. They are brilliant at what they do. They are also leading businesses in the shift to making their processes all net zero. If you haven't looked into it, highly recommend it. What is great about it is. Who doesn't know about legos? Kim [00:02:09]: Exactly. We've been playing with them since we could remember. Kat [00:02:11]: Yeah. And the best thing about legos is you can follow instructions or you can make your own thing. So what is great about Legos and how it relates to Accelera is our technologies are your building blocks. Those are your legos. When you look at, let's say, a commercial vehicle, like a heavy duty truck, let's say it's powered by diesel. Okay. You no longer want it to be powered by diesel. You want to try something different. Kim [00:02:35]: Oh, that's. Kat [00:02:35]: So you're going to toss away your instructions, but you have your vehicle, you have your powertrain, you have your diesel engine, you have your wheels, your axles, everything in there. But what if you take out the diesel engine? What block, what LEGO brick is going to fit back in there? There isn't one. You actually have to take a break. Kim [00:02:53]: You see my pause, you see my hesitation. I was like, I don't know. You threw away my instructions. Kat [00:02:57]: Exactly. There's no instructions. And Accelera is helping build those instructions for our customers. So if you take out your diesel brick. Okay, well, here's the battery brick. Okay, well, what is that battery going to do if you just took out the engine, where is the battery going to feed power to? What's going to actually generate that electricity and what's going to make the wheels move? Well, okay, if you take out the diesel engine, you have to look at the entire powertrain. Then what other bricks need to be removed, reconfigured, replaced? And that's where our other technologies come in. So let's say you want to start with a battery brick. Kat [00:03:27]: What else does it need? Well, it's going to need a motor. Okay, great. We have electric motors. We have that. It's going to need an inverter. We have inverters to go with those motors. Kim [00:03:35]: This is the most modular vision of a powertrain I have ever seen. And it's very true that, you know, even when we don't have the parts that we need, we kind of have to pull and makeshift something else. Combine two breaks. I'm also thinking about within this energy transition, nobody has the right path. There is no linear path. And I think if you saw a slide that we had that was like, it's here, it's here, it's there, it's everywhere. Because no one is in sync when it comes to their goals with sustainability and energy. And what's beautiful about Accelera is like, no matter where you are on this path, it seems like Accelera has a solution. Kat [00:04:08]: Absolutely. And I think it also, it goes further than that. Cummins has the solution. Because remember, Accelera is just one part of Cummins. Cummins is very great at diesel. Right. So if you want to get from diesel to zero emissions, what about that messy middle? Kim [00:04:21]: Exactly. Kat [00:04:22]: What are we doing there? Cummins has that answer. They're guiding you from very tried and true diesel, which has its place. But then for the OEMs and other customers who want to get to zero, it's not a linear jump. You can't just step over to the green side. Kim [00:04:36]: If only it was that easy, right? Kat [00:04:37]: No, we're going to trip, we're going to stumble. You got to go through that Messy middle. And that's where Accelera and Cummins work together, together as a single company to guide you through that. And that's when you get your building blocks. So it's very common. You'll hear Amy Davis, who is our business segment president, you'll hear, really anyone about Accelerator. Talk about there's no magic bullet. There is no one path forward. Kat [00:04:58]: There's no single solution. It's why we have this humorous portfolio. We always like to say it is the broadest zero emissions portfolio out there because not only are we a solutions provider, we're a component provider. Do you want it on a silver platter? And this is what we're going to give you. You don't have to do anything other than say, yes, please. We can give you that powertrain, but if you want to be a little bit more creative and form your own LEGO set, we got you there, too. Kim [00:05:25]: And I feel like most customers want to have a say. I think it is so easy to say, yes, give me the one size fits all. But we all value our companies and, you know, they have more value in there than just to say, I want this one thing. I think they want to be a part of it. And I think being able to customize and curate what that looks like for them and their business is really, really special. Kat [00:05:43]: Absolutely. I love always playing around with copywriting as part of my job. And I will probably write like 50 drafts of something. I'm like, well, that's too. Can't use that. But what I like to say to myself when I just feel overwhelmed with the amount of technologies and the ways it can be used and their complex definitions and how they all work together to make just one thing. Move or get powered. We are the ultimate DIYers. Kat [00:06:06]: We are really. Build your own vehicle. BYOV, like IS. So that is Accelerator. Kim [00:06:12]: This is why I love talking to you, Kat, is because I always pick up really. I'm like, yes, we are. We are the ultimate DIYers. And as I feel like as kids, we were probably really crafty. We probably built our own LEGO sets all the time. We probably threw out the instructions all the time. Kat [00:06:24]: You'll lose some pieces. Kim [00:06:25]: Exactly. And like I said, you have to combine pieces and do makeshift things to make it work. And it's kind of translated into our adult lives and careers, which is completely fascinating. Kat [00:06:34]: Absolutely. And it's one of those things, too. Like, sometimes those pieces, you're going to try it out and it doesn't work. Okay, no problem. We'll just try again. Kim [00:06:45]: Also, I wish we would have had Legos to play with. I should have had. Kat [00:06:48]: No, we should have had Legos. Here. I would love. Kim [00:06:50]: We can do some pieces. You can come back and listen to what you said and maybe switch some pieces out. Kat [00:06:55]: We could totally do that. I've actually been wanting to do that in a marketing campaign where we actually get a LEGO set and we assign each piece a different technology and you can see an actual powertrain come together and how the different configurations work. And you can actually read about this on the extension seller o website. There's a blog post explaining why this tiered platform is a game changer for OEMs, especially in North America. Kim [00:07:18]: All right, look for it in the show notes. Look for it in the show notes. Yeah. Kat [00:07:21]: But it is really the ultimate, like Legos. This is it. One, a battery. If you've seen a commercial vehicle battery, it's a rectangle. Kim [00:07:28]: Yeah. Kat [00:07:29]: Literally a Lego piece. Why wouldn't we do this? So what you can do with this battery is you can scale it up or down in size and you can put it in different configurations without compromising the amount of power it gives your vehicle. Let's say you have a semi truck that is making a cross country trip. Okay. You're just gonna stack like three of those packs together. Kim [00:07:49]: As simple as that? Kat [00:07:50]: Super simple. You can scale it down. If you have a light duty vehicle, you can cut one of those packs in half and it's half the size and it doesn't compromise the power, but it's a lot lighter weight. It saves on space. Because one thing that we are figuring out right now is, okay, you just added this entirely different powertrain without a diesel engine. Battery packs for commercial vehicles, they're not small. How are you going to fit all of that in a vehicle without adding all of this extra weight that plays. Kim [00:08:18]: A role into what? Fuel efficiency, Maintenance. Yeah, there's a lot of other things. Kat [00:08:22]: There's a lot of things that go into it. Absolutely. It's funny, I always view it as like a mind map. Like, here's my central thing, here's the battery. Okay. If we change the battery, there's like a hundred million things that kind of spiral off of it. Kim [00:08:33]: We're just talking about the domino effect. Kat [00:08:34]: It is literally dominoes. Absolutely. And it's one of those things where I love it because you get to kind of trace these storylines. And one thing I'm huge on is looking at things from any perspective possible, even if it's not my preferred perspective. Kim [00:08:46]: Totally. Kat [00:08:47]: And that's what our Teams have to do is, okay, well, if we do this, what 10 things are going to be directly affected? And what are those 10 things going to affect? And vice versa. Kim [00:08:57]: But that's why you're brilliant at troubleshooting today's problems, tomorrow's problems, and just finding a solution. Kat [00:09:03]: Absolutely. And they're gonna do it. Oh, my gosh. Like I said, they're so resilient, they're so smart. I'll sit on meetings with them. I'm like, okay, wait, actually, can you tell me this? Like, I'm five. Kim [00:09:15]: That's actually, like, the whole concept of this show is, like, explain, like, I'm five. And so I think all the insight that you bring and the analogies you bring is so helpful to understand and navigate. Cause a lot of times, I'll be honest, I sit through webinars and maybe, like, 15% of that flies over my head. And it might have been the most crucial 15%, dare I say so it's so nice to have, like, a very easy understanding. We were playing with Legos, we were playing with Barbies, and now you're giving us the analogies in how we power tomorrow. Kat [00:09:42]: Absolutely. And you can really just do that with any aspect of it. I think one of the great things, too, is, like, with the brand of Accelera, we have that autonomy to do it. We are encouraged to be innovative and adaptable, but also the main thing is the support that comes with it. Supportive is one of our main culture initiatives, and it comes through because, like I said, just like with Legos, without instructions, you might build something, it might not work. So you're gonna take it apart and try together. And that's exactly what they're doing, is they're doing their best and they are innovating in every way possible. If it works, that's amazing. Kat [00:10:16]: If it doesn't, okay, well, we learned another way not to do it. Let's try a different path. Kim [00:10:20]: Love, love, love. This. This takes me back to when I spoke to Lori on an episode, and she talked about the innovative spirit of Klussie Cummins. And I love seeing that archival trace pushed through the future and into Accelera by Cummins. That tinkering, innovating, always kind of moving things around to make things work. It still lives. It's in our DNA. Kat [00:10:39]: It's literally in our DNA. And I think that's what makes Accelera so successful, is we have that from Cummins. Kim [00:10:45]: Kat, we've covered so much ground, but I want to get your thoughts. What do we want Our audience and our listeners. To take away from this episode, I. Kat [00:10:54]: Would say the biggest takeaway is we are building and providing the power of choice to the world because there are now so many different options for them to choose. But what's most important is that they get a solution that works for them. We can't force the change. We have to adapt and make this change something that is still going to bring success to others. So when you look at Accelera and our technologies, it's broad. Like I said, diy, build your own. We want to give this option to our customers or our potential customers, people who are just curious and say, you know what? We get it. Change is scary. Kat [00:11:36]: You get to choose what that change is and how you're going to do it. Kim [00:11:40]: I love the power of choice. That phrase in itself is so powerful. And it's like we're giving them the keys and we're walking through this together as opposed to. Yep, it's scary. Good luck. Bye. Kat [00:11:50]: Oh, my gosh. Now we will walk with you through it. Like I said, we are going to take you from maybe Cummins if you're interested. We will guide you through that messy middle until you reach your destination, which is zero emissions. Kim [00:12:02]: Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to again, come through, drop some knowledge on us and then just give us some light about the future. Because I do agree it is quite scary. There's a lot of uncertainty here, but I love just diving into the messy middle with you and then giving some new learnings to the audience. Kat [00:12:19]: Absolutely. It is always a pleasure to talk with you, Kim. And yeah, we are just ready to accelerate the shift. Kim [00:12:25]: All right, so what's the big idea for this episode? When you think about the energy transition, it can seem like a huge and overwhelming concept. But what if we look at it the same way that we look at Legos? Some days you follow the instructions and you build a solution that's already tried and true, while other days you get to create something entirely new, designing a custom fit that works for you. Whether you're taking small steps or making big changes. The future of transportation is all about flexibility, creativity, and building something that accelerates the shift. Show ID [00:13:03]: Power Onward. Thank you for listening to Power Onward. Your support means the world to us. If you enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to subscribe, rate and review on your favorite podcast platform. If you want to dig deeper on what we covered today, check out the show notes for additional links or go to cummins.com podcast until next time, Power Onward. We're from Cummins, the company that's been innovating toward the future for more than 100 years. We're no strangers to rapid change, global shifts and economic uncertainty. We want to be your constant during the energy transition. Show ID [00:13:52]: Whenever, wherever, forever. Power onward.For more episodes, check out cummins.com/podcast. Want to join us on our mission towards smarter, cleaner power? Check out cummins.com/careers to explore opportunities.
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