Engine maker Cummins said it would begin producing electrolyzers at a factory in Minnesota, starting at 500 MW of capacity annually, scalable to 1 GW at a future date.
The company said it plans to dedicate 89,000 sq. ft. of its existing facility in a suburb of Minneapolis to electrolyzer production. Initially, the facility will manufacture its HyLYZER-500 and HyLYZER-5000 proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers, with the potential to manufacture other electrolyzer products. The company said these products can accommodate power needs from 1.25 MW to more than 200 MW for both small- and large-scale hydrogen generation projects.
An electrolyzer separates water into oxygen and hydrogen. When the electrolyzer system is operated using renewable electricity – such as solar, wind or hydropower – the hydrogen it produces is “green” and carbon free. Green hydrogen can be stored as a compressed gas or a liquid and used as an energy-dense, clean power source to help decarbonize a variety of hard-to-abate sectors, such as heavy-duty transportation and industrial processes.
The company recently announced expansion of PEM electrolyzer manufacturing capacity at its Belgium factory to 1GW and added space to its Mississauga, Canada, site. Cummins said it also is building two new electrolyzer factories in Spain and China, each starting at 500 MW of manufacturing capacity and scalable to 1 GW.
Also at its Fridley location, Cummins recently opened a microgrid lab intended to configure, integrate and test power system technologies including diesel and natural gas generator sets, PV solar panels, battery storage systems, fuel cells, transfer switches, switchgear and system level controls.
In early October, Atura Power selected Cummins to design and manufacture the electrolyzer system for its 20 MW Niagara Hydrogen Centre in Niagara Falls, Ont. The PEM electrolysis system would be manufactured at Cummins’ Mississauga facility. Design work and system integration is underway, with plans to bring the facility online in early 2024.
