Cummins scaling Belgium electrolyzer manufacturing capacity to 1 gigawatt through IPCEI support

September 08, 2022 at 03:00 AM EDT

Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) will expand PEM electrolyzer manufacturing capacity at its Oevel, Belgium, factory to 1 gigawatt (GW) with the support from the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) Hy2Tech program. IPCEI – recently approved by the European Commission, with funding granted by Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship Agency (VLAIO) – will help Cummins develop a new generation of PEM electrolyzer cell stacks to power large-scale hydrogen production systems.

By scaling manufacturing capacity, Cummins will continue to drive the green hydrogen economy in Europe and globally, able to support new infrastructure projects and advance government decarbonization goals.

“Innovation is key in this fast-growing market, and Europe has the unique opportunity to become the technology, design and production hub for hydrogen generation equipment,” said Alexey Ustinov, Vice President of Electrolyzers at Cummins. “This funding from IPCEI is important for the entire hydrogen value chain and proves that Cummins is on the right track to drive the hydrogen economy forward. Continuously accelerating R&D capabilities and increasing our manufacturing capacity will help us respond to growing market demand in Europe and globally.”

The expansion in Belgium adds to Cummins’ already scaling global electrolyzer manufacturing footprint. The company has added capacity at its Mississauga, Canada, facility and is building two new electrolyzer factories in Spain and China, each starting at 500MW of manufacturing capacity and scalable to 1GW.

IPCEI Hy2Tech includes 41 projects from 35 companies in 15 European countries.

“Promoting hydrogen development and deployment will boost jobs and growth throughout Europe while contributing to our green and resilience agenda,” said Thierry Breton, EU Commissioner for the internal market. “It enables the clean transition of energy-intensive industries and increases our independence from fossil fuels. With this IPCEI, we see EU hydrogen production moving ‘from lab to fab,’ and our industry turning technological mastery into commercial leadership. And of course, we are not only supporting hydrogen through funding. We have also made decisive progress on building partnerships through the Clean Hydrogen Alliance and are developing EU-wide rules for enabling the hydrogen market and creating dedicated infrastructure.”

Read the full IPCEI announcement.

Cummins has a long history of advanced technology and engineering capabilities, innovates across a broad portfolio of market-leading renewable hydrogen technologies, and has been part of many of the world’s hydrogen “firsts.” This includes powering the world’s largest PEM electrolyzer in operation at 20MW in Bécancour, Canada; the world’s first megawatt-scale demonstration plant for storing wind energy in the natural gas grid in Windgas Falkenhagen, Germany; the world’s first hydrogen-powered passenger train in pilot operation across Europe; and the world’s first hydrogen refueling station for ships, cars, trucks and industrial customers in Antwerp, Belgium.

About IPCEI

The Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, an Important Project of Common European Interest (‘IPCEI') to support research and innovation and first industrial deployment in the hydrogen technology value chain. The project, called “IPCEI Hy2Tech” was jointly prepared and notified by fifteen Member States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain. The Member States will provide up to €5.4 billion in public funding, which is expected to unlock additional €8.8 billion in private investments. As part of this IPCEI, 35 companies with activities in one or more Member States, including small and medium-sized enterprises (‘SMEs') and start-ups, will participate in 41 projects.

About Cummins Inc.

Cummins Inc., a global power technology leader, is a corporation of complementary business segments that design, manufacture, distribute and service a broad portfolio of power solutions. The company’s products range from internal combustion, electric and hybrid integrated power solutions and components including filtration, aftertreatment, turbochargers, fuel systems, controls systems, air handling systems, automated transmissions, electric power generation systems, microgrid controls, batteries, electrolyzers and fuel cell products. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana (U.S.), since its founding in 1919, Cummins employs approximately 59,900 people committed to powering a more prosperous world through three global corporate responsibility priorities critical to healthy communities: education, environment and equality of opportunity. Cummins serves its customers online, through a network of company-owned and independent distributor locations, and through thousands of dealer locations worldwide and earned about $2.1 billion on sales of $24 billion in 2021.