The push to decarbonise heavy-duty vehicles lags far behind light-duty applications. This is primarily because the extreme demands on powertrain cost-performance, operational availability, design life and reliability are yet to be wholly met by any existing low carbon powertrain approach, such as fuel cells, battery electric, hybrids and use of alternative fuels (for example CNG or biodiesel).

Whilst there is consensus that all are vital to the transformation of the entire on-highway/off-highway transport domain, heavy-duty applications are much more sensitive to the specific operation-critical characteristics of these technologies, creating uncertainty for UK-based OEMs trying to determine specific paths to zero-emissions.

Currently, UK supply chains for systems and ancillaries in these segments also lack the capability and flexibility to meet quality, volume, variety and cost-reduction requirements for heavy-duty applications. The risks for OEMs, in terms of long-term security-of-supply, contribute to the inertia adopting new low carbon technologies into vehicle launch plans, with significant impacts on the UK's decarbonisation trajectory.

Opportunity

Cummins aims to become the world's leading provider of decarbonised powertrains for heavy-duty applications by 2030. Their roadmap culminates in zero-emission thermal propulsion platforms based on fuel cells alongside battery electric architectures, but is also critically-dependent on more rapidly deployable internal combustion engine-based (ICE) powertrains. These will leverage alternative fuels and hybrid technology developments to address the uncertainty within heavy-duty.

Innovative energy recovery systems across multiple thermal propulsion platforms therefore remain vital to Cummins' overall competitiveness, directly enabling impacts accelerating the transition away from diesel ICE and undercutting aggressive UK and global CO2 reduction targets.

This need remains unmet in heavy-duty applications with challenging operational requirements.

Trident vision and objectives

Building on extensive cutting-edge developments in every major component and subsystem across mechanical and e-machine domains, Cummins Turbo Technologies (CTT, Huddersfield) and partners across the Tier 1 to Tier 3 UK supply chain target a game-changing energy recovery platform, redefining the practical limits of system efficiency across multiple thermal propulsion powertrains. Transforming system-level efficiency at vehicle-level and directly catalysing disruptive range and payload impacts for heavy-duty fuel cell vehicles, and CO2/fuel-consumption improvement for ICE-based platforms such as hybrids, natural gas vehicles and reduced-emission diesel variants.