JCB adds hydrogen internal combustion engines to its “Road to Zero Emissions”

JCB hosted an event in the UK this week to showcase its 4-cylinder 4.8-litre hydrogen combustion engine to North American media. The engine has been installed in a working 3CX backhoe loader.LoaderTested and refined on the 542-70 Loadall telescopic handler.

It also showcased the modified Fastrac ag tractorCombined with a trailer, serving as a mobilehydrogen engineGo for it!lorry。

JCB has sold compact electrical equipment (compact) to contractors.excavatortelescopic handlers, on-site dump trucks, scissor lifts, mini skid steer loaders and forklifts), and investigated the integration of zero-emissionSolutions“The approach to scaling up to large equipment such as the 220X excavator. Tim Burnhope, JCB's Chief Innovation Officer, stated that initially, it experimented with multipleBatteryHowever, both the cost and weight are prohibitive.

Subsequently, the company went on to investigateHydrogen fuel cell systemThey even produced a hydrogen fuel cell version of a large excavator. “Too complex, unreliable, and far too expensive,” said Bernhop.

Meanwhile, Lord Bamford, the company's chairman, set JCB's engineers a challenge: to develop a hydrogen-burning engine that did not use fuel cells, in light of numerous nations“ commitments to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. That was in 2020. Driven by a company-wide initiative called ”The Road to Zero", they soon achieved this.

Chris Giorgianni, Vice President of Government and Defence, Products, stated that multiple hydrogen combustion engines are currently undergoing round-the-clock testing on the company's dynamometers, generating substantial data. However, it will take approximately another year for contractors to conduct field trials of hydrogen installations in the dirt. & Marketing in the United States

Although JCB did not exhibit at Conexpo, JCB Power Systems will bring its hydrogen combustion engine to Las Vegas as part of its stand at the International Fluid Power Expo (IFPE).