Cummins and Tata cut ribbon on first hydrogen engine factory in India
The plant is expected to produce 4,000 H2 engines a year
A joint venture between US engineering giant Cummins and Indian conglomerate Tata has this week inaugurated its first manufacturing facility in India for hydrogen internal combustion engines (ICEs) for medium- and heavy-duty transport.
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While a specific start date for the factory has not been outlined, Cummins and Tata Motors had in 2022 signed a memorandum of understanding for India to be one of the first markets for hydrogen ICEs, with the first engines rolling off production lines in 2027.
However, TCPL GES may not be the first out the gate to manufacture these engines in India. In February last year, industrial conglomerate Reliance and automaker Ashok Leyland had announced the first domestically produced truck retrofitted with a hydrogen ICE — although it is not clear whether the engine was made in-house or came from a third-party supplier in or outside of India.
The US firm has also suggested that because these engines are similar to incumbent diesel powertrains, they require very little retraining for operators compared to fuel-cell trucks.
The Jamshedpur factory had been designated a “mega-project” by the state government of Jharkhand, which would make it eligible for 50% match funding up to 200 million rupees ($2.4m), as well as tax breaks including a 75% reprieve on some of the project’s associated value-added tax (VAT) bill.
The factory is also expected to produce 10,000 battery systems.
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