Daimler Truck North America, Cummins Join Development Alliance
UCR’s Georgios Karavalakis and Wayne Miller, a founding scientist and principal investigator for the alliance. (University of California, Riverside)
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Two U.S. universities have teamed up with auto industry heavyweights including Daimler Truck North America to form the Hydrogen Engine Alliance of North America (H2EA-NA).
The University of California, Riverside and University of Michigan-led alliance intends to promote the role of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source for internal combustion engines, including over-the road trucks, the alliance said March 3.
“Our goal is to leverage hydrogen as a low-carbon solution that can enhance the performance and sustainability of internal combustion engines,” said Georgios Karavalakis, co-director of H2EA-NA and professor of chemical and environmental engineering at UCR.
“Hydrogen-powered ICEs can provide a long-term, reliable solution, particularly for applications where battery-electric or fuel cell vehicles may not meet consumer performance requirements,” he added.
California & Michigan universities form hydrogen engine alliance. Read more ⬇️ @UCRBCOE #fuel #zerocarbon https://t.co/1kxHmKtBjC — UC Riverside (@UCRiverside) March 3, 2025
Karavalakis and Wayne Miller, also a professor of chemical and environmental engineering at UCR, will serve as co-directors of H2EA-NA alongside André Boehman, a Michigan professor of mechanical engineering.
The initial industry partners are DTNA, engine manufacturer Cummins and auto component manufacturers Mahle, Forvia and Tenneco.
DTNA — the parent company of U.S. truck brands Freightliner and Western Star — does not have any hydrogen ICE trucks, but parent company Daimler Truck is testing a number of vehicles with powertrains that use the fuel in ICE engines.
The world’s largest truck maker also is advancing its hydrogen fuel cell electric truck ambitions.
The Mercedes-Benz GenH2 truck is fueled with liquid hydrogen. (Daimler Truck via X)
Testing is underway in Europe of both Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck and the company’s sLH2 subcooled liquid hydrogen. Among the fleets testing the truck are Amazon, Air Products and Holcim. Amazon ranks No. 1 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America.
Daimler Truck and partner Linde Engineering hope to establish sLH2 as a common refueling standard for hydrogen-powered trucks.
Germany-based Daimler Truck also has realized that sourcing hydrogen, and green hydrogen in particular, is necessary to fuel widespread adoption of the trucks. In January 2024, the company signed a deal with Abu Dhabi to explore sourcing green hydrogen from the Gulf state; shipments could begin by 2030. Later in 2024, the company also inked a deal with Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
Green hydrogen is produced by splitting water into its component elements using renewable electricity rather than using petroleum products as the source.
Cummins, meanwhile, plans to offer a hydrogen internal combustion engine configuration of the X15 heavy-duty truck engine as part of its High Efficiency, Lower emissions, Multiple fuels initiative.
The various options will have a common base engine. Below the head gasket, the engine variants will largely have similar components, but above the head gasket, components will vary based on fuel type.
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