Proving Heavy-Duty Hydrogen Engine Integration
PTL supported Southwest Research Institute as part of an industry-backed H₂ICE consortium project focused on converting a Cummins X15N natural gas engine to operate on port-injected hydrogen. Because CO₂ emissions from hydrogen ICE vehicles are by nature near zero, the consortium’s primary emphasis was on achieving competitive fuel economy and sharply reducing other regulated emissions, particularly NOₓ. The main objective was to demonstrate compliance with the California Air Resources Board’s voluntary Ultralow NOₓ designation in a Class 8 truck, a demanding application characterized by high loads, arduous duty cycles, and minimal tolerance for compromises in durability or packaging.
The challenge
Switching an engine to hydrogen is not a simple fuel swap. Combustion behaviour changes significantly, ignition requirements change, and both fuel delivery and purging become more complex. Air handling also needs a major rework. All this still must sit inside a production-viable vehicle package. The main risks aren’t usually isolated within a single subsystem and tend to become apparent only when the full system integration is considered.
PTL’s role
PTL worked in partnership with Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) across the full engine and vehicle integration, including ignition system design and packaging, hydrogen fuel system and port design, crankcase ventilation, fuel purging strategy, air handling and compound charging integration, fuel storage and injector manifolding, plus instrumentation, wiring, and vehicle integration.
Why it mattered
The programme needed to demonstrate that a hydrogen powertrain could be made to work credibly in a Class 8 vehicle, requiring focused engineering effort across combustion, fuel, air, packaging and vehicle systems. Careful treatment of each aspect within the full powertrain system was vital to delivering successful projects.
If you need clearer engineering evidence before the next design, funding or delivery decision, PTL offers a technical discovery call with engineering specialists.
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If you need clearer engineering evidence before the next design, funding or delivery decision, PTL offers a technical discovery call with engineering specialists.
