Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - December 2024 - 10

DEMOING CLEAN HYDROGEN
COMBUSTION
SwRI's H2-ICE consortium was launched
in 2022 and includes engine and truck
manufacturers, Tier 1 suppliers and
fuels and lubricants providers.
Backed by a consortium of companies, Southwest Research Institute's
demonstrator vehicle aims to prove the commercial viability of hydrogen
engines for on-road trucks.
by Matt Wolfe
F
or decades, the running joke around hydrogen being a viable
fuel for commercial trucks has been that it's " ten years away
from being ten years away. " Though hydrogen-fueled rigs
operating at scale has long seemed like a pipe dream, shifting
winds around the globe blowing towards decarbonization have
finally pushed this technology to be ready for the road.
With the demand for the development of new propulsion technologies
rising, organizations such as the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)
have ramped up R&D efforts to make this tech commercially viable.
SwRI is an independent provider of research services and can rapidly
assemble teams to tackle problems. SwRI's main mission is to push the
boundaries of science and technology to develop innovative solutions.
One such project was the development of a hydrogen-fueled Class
8 demonstration vehicle, which was on display in September at the
2024 SAE COMVEC conference. Built as part of its industry-supported
H2-ICE consortium, the goal of the demonstration was the development
of a hydrogen-fueled combustion engine that produced ultra-low
NOx and CO2
emissions while still providing enough torque
and power for most heavy-duty applications.
Avengers assemble
SwRI's H2-ICE consortium was launched in 2022 and includes engine
and truck manufacturers, fuels and lubricants providers and Tier 1
10 December 2024
suppliers with a unified vision of advancing sustainable
mobility through innovative hydrogen engine
technology. The consortium focused on demonstrating
the potential for H2-ICE vehicles to complement other
zero-emission vehicle technologies on the industry's
decarbonization roadmap.
To achieve the consortium's goals, the engine needed
to demonstrate industry-leading NOx emissions in
addition to the low CO2
emissions expected from hydrogen
combustion. The SwRI team set a target of
meeting the California Air Resource Board's (CARB)
Ultra-Low NOx designation of 0.02 g/hp-hr.
" We wanted the program to align with the EPA's
Phase-3 greenhouse gas policy, so we knew our timeline
was ambitious, " said Ryan Williams, SwRI
Powertrain Engineering Division manager and the
H2-ICE consortium's program manager. " It took incredible
planning by the integration teams to ensure
that the build proceeded smoothly. "
SwRI converted an X15N natural gas engine provided
by Cummins to run on port-injected hydrogen.
Allison provided a transmission for the truck, while
Forvia provided the hydrogen tanks. Other OEMs
and Tier 1s that supplied components and knowledge
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
SwRI
Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - December 2024

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