Cummins will invest more than US$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, in a bid to help decarbonise the nation’s truck fleets.

The news follows recent investments in Fridley, Minnesota.

“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, Cummins president and CEO.

“The electrolyser 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,” she said.

More than half of all medium- and heavy-duty trucks on the road in the U.S. use Cummins engines. This investment is intended to retain the thousands of current engineering and manufacturing jobs and support the creation of hundreds of new jobs across the company’s New York, North Carolina and Indiana footprint, as Cummins invests in its people and facilities to grow innovation and manufacturing and accelerate its decarbonisation efforts.

The following information highlights the company’s plans to continue investments in its Jamestown Engine Plant in New York and information regarding recent investments in Fridley, Minnesota. Information on additional investment in Indiana and North Carolina will be made public later.

In New York, Cummins will invest US$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.

At the Fridley facility, Accelera by Cummins – Cummins’ zero-emission technology brand – will soon manufacture electrolysers, which are a critical piece of the green hydrogen economy. Hydrogen produced by electrolysers can power hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and is used in industrial processes like steel production. Building electrolysers in Fridley is helping to bring the supply chain for zero-emissions vehicles to the United States – particularly in heavy trucking industries. Established in 1969, Fridley employs over 900 and will plan to dedicate 89,000 square feet of the existing facility to electrolyser production starting April 24. This is a US$10 million investment that will support 100 new jobs by 2024.