Werner Enterprises recently announced plans to purchase hundreds of hydrogen-powered engines from Cummins in an effort to reduce greenhouse gases.

On September 7, Werner announced that company leaders signed a letter of intent to purchase 500 Cummins’ 15-liter hydrogen internal combustion engines upon availability.

“At Werner, we’re committed to a 55 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 because we recognize the important role our sustainability efforts play,” said Werner’s Chairman, President and CEO, Derek Leathers. “Our customers are showing increased interest in more sustainable choices in the marketplace, and we see significant potential in utilizing Cummins’ fuel agnostic platform to continue the momentum toward reducing our carbon footprint.”

“We are pleased to see the leadership of customers like Werner Enterprises, who are exploring solutions like our fuel agnostic platform to help their own customers. The future will include many solutions to help customers decarbonize, and we believe hydrogen internal combustion engines will play an important role,” said Brett Merritt, Vice President On-Highway Engine Business, Cummins Inc.

In a news release, Cummins described the benefits of hydrogen powered engines for the trucking industry:

Hydrogen engines offer OEMs and end-users the benefit of adaptability by continuing to use familiar mechanical drivelines with vehicle and equipment integration. This mirrors current powertrains while continuing to provide the power and capability for meeting application needs. Significant reuse of parts and components from Cummins’ existing platforms drives scale advantages on cost and is also projected to deliver reliability and durability equal to diesel.

Hydrogen engines can use zero-carbon green hydrogen fuel, produced by Cummins-manufactured electrolyzers. The projected investment in renewable hydrogen production globally will provide a growing opportunity for the deployment of hydrogen-powered fleets utilizing either Cummins fuel cell or engine power.

Earlier this year, Werner and Cummins announced plans to validate and integrate Cummins’ 15-liter natural gas and Cummins’ X15H hydrogen engines, both part of Cummins’ fuel agnostic platform, into the Werner fleet.