No battery, just a motor and hydrogen instead of conventional fuel. That’s the simplest way to describe how Cummins Inc., an American multinational that designs, manufactures and sells engine, filtration and power generation products, is trying to align its operations to meet its zero emissions goals. The company mainly manufactures engines for the commercial vehicle sector in India. With its existing engineering hub, major customers like Tata Motors and its back-end manufacturing facilities in the subcontinent, India could be the start of a global transition from diesel engine manufacturing to sustainable engines, says Srikanth Padmanabhan, President Engine Business, Cummins Inc.

These engines are also being sold here in India before anyone else in the world, says Jonathan White, Executive Director Engine Business, Cummins Inc. This is largely because India is the only country where the opportunity, the benefits and the feasibility given are best alignment of all. “Our discussions, whether it’s about exhibitions, with our partners or truck manufacturers, fuel companies, they coincide like no other country, you know. In India we have hydrogen available in India, solar power, grid power to make more hydrogen, it’s all there.”

It is well known that one fuel technology will not be a global solution. It will require many combinations and permutations for different countries.

It is precisely for these reasons that Jim Nebergall, General Manager Hydrogen Engines, Cummins Inc. says, “India is unique. While we have seen a global transition to hydrogen as a commercial fuel, it is also true that almost every major country in the world is now beginning to realize that electric motors will not work for everything.”