At the Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo in Long Beach, Calif., Cummins Westport Inc. (CWI) has announced its model-year 2018 dedicated natural gas engines for regional haul truck/tractor, vocational and transit, school bus, and refuse applications. According to CWI, the new lineup comes with a change in names, following Cummins’ tradition of using B, L and X series letters, followed by engine displacement. The letter “N” denotes engines that are fueled by natural gas.
The new B6.7N, L9N and ISX12N engines continue the evolution of on-highway natural gas products from CWI, featuring U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) optional low NOx certification, onboard diagnostics, closed crankcase ventilation systems, and performance and reliability improvements. The new ISX12N features a redesigned fuel system with fewer parts and improved performance.
Like the L9N that replaces the ISL G Near Zero, the 2018 ISX12N heavy-duty natural gas engine for regional haul truck/tractor, vocational and refuse applications will also be certified to EPA and CARB optional low NOx emissions standards of 0.02 g/bhp-hr.
CWI further claims the ISX12N and L9N will be the lowest-certified NOx emission engines available in North America. NOx exhaust emissions are 90% lower than the current EPA NOx limit of 0.2 g/bhp-hr, and the engines also meet or exceed the 2017 EPA greenhouse-gas emission requirements. CWI says its natural gas engines have met the 2010 EPA standard for particulate matter (0.01 g/bhp-hr) since 2001.
All CWI engines offer customers the choice of using compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG) or renewable natural gas (RNG) as a fuel. They utilize proprietary spark-ignited, stoichiometric combustion with cooled exhaust gas recirculation technology, as well as three-way catalyst (TWC) aftertreatment. The TWC is packaged as a muffler and is maintenance-free. No diesel particulate filter or selective catalytic reduction aftertreatment is required.
The ISX12N will be manufactured in Cummins’ heavy-duty engine plant in Jamestown, N.Y., with the L9N and B6.7N manufactured in Cummins’ midrange engine plant in Rocky Mount, N.C.
“Our 2018 product line demonstrates an important milestone in product development for Cummins Westport, creating a move to zero-emissions strategy for our customers and industry,” says Rob Neitzke, president of CWI. “We are particularly pleased that the ISX12N will join the L9N in offering our on-highway customers the benefits of performance and reliability at an ultra-low emissions level described by California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District as equivalent to an electric vehicle. This move to zero emissions strategy means our customers can choose the most affordable path to zero-equivalent emissions with no commercial constraints on supply or technology readiness.”
Partial funding in support of the ISX12N engine development has been received from the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the California Energy Commission, Southern California Gas and Clean Energy.
