It’s a sultry afternoon amid a record-breaking heatwave sweeping the region—a sharp contrast to an otherwise pleasant English September—at the Wardlow quarry off Ashbourne Road in Cauldon Low, United Kingdom. But several days of temperatures hovering above 30 degrees Celsius, which are a first for the country on record, haven’t deterred a dedicated team of engineers to demonstrate JCB’s latest milestone— ‘super-efficient’ hydrogen combustion engines—in the privately-owned research and development site of the British construction equipment manufacturer.
Two prototypes—a backhoe loader and a loadall telescopic handler—are going full steam ahead to showcase their prowess in clean technology. Except for the green branding, which replaces the traditional bright yellow, nothing is amiss. The engineers, too, say there’s no noticeable difference in the vehicles even when driving. The only by-products are water vapour and warm air, which explain why the exhaust pipes aren’t black, as is the case with regular diesel engines.
The new hydrogen engine is less noisy, which is a good thing, and at the same time the unique combustion properties of hydrogen enable the engine to deliver the same power, the same torque, and the same efficiency that power JCB machines today, but in a zero-carbon way.
Energy booster
Earlier in the day, engineers from JCB Power Systems showcased the hydrogen engine at the company’s engine factory in Derbyshire for the first time to a select group of journalists from India. The 4.8-litre inline-four hydrogen combustion engine (448 ABH2)—JCB’s zero-carbon emission solution for construction and agricultural equipment—was previously unveiled at the Conexpo 2023 show in Las Vegas, US, as part of the International Fluid Power Exposition (IFPE), in March.
JCB is pumping £100 million into the project. Led by chief innovation and growth officer Tim Burnhope, a team of 150 engineers has been working on it for nearly two years and the 50th JCB hydrogen combustion engine has now rolled out of the production line as part of the development process.
Lord Anthony Bamford, the company’s chairman, has also been personally showing interest in the project. “The JCB engineering team has done a fantastic job to develop a brand-new hydrogen engine. They have gone back to first principles to completely redesign the combustion process to work for hydrogen. In doing so, they have achieved two major things— secure JCB’s place in history as the first construction equipment company to develop a fully working combustion engine fuelled by hydrogen and steer us towards the production of a landmark 50 hydrogen combustion engines,” he says.
Green solution
But why hydrogen? “Two years ago, I set the challenge that we should be making hydrogen engines for the construction industry and for agriculture. Two years later, we have hydrogen engines working on the kind of equipment that JCB makes. A solution that delivers power in the same way as conventional engines, but with none of the fossil fuels. We are proving daily that hydrogen does work, that it’s a clean, renewable, transportable fuel,” says Bamford.
Another advantage is that hydrogen-powered vehicles can also be refuelled much faster, with the task completed in a matter of minutes compared to several hours for recharging of batteries.
JCB’s hydrogen engines are already powering its prototype backhoe loaders and loadall telescopic handlers. The main challenge, however, is supply. The company, it seems, has found a solution to that too. Recently, JCB unveiled its own mobile refuelling bowser to take the fuel to the machines. The bowser also has enough hydrogen to fill 16 hydrogen backhoe loaders and is able to be transported either on the back of a modified Fastrac tractor or on a trailer.
Meanwhile, the company has even installed one of the hydrogen engines into a 7.5-tonne Mercedes truck—a retrofit which was completed in just a few days. Later, the company made a second major breakthrough in proving the wider appeal of hydrogen combustion technology by installing one of its hydrogen engines into a Mercedes Sprinter van. The white van retrofit was completed in just two weeks.
The development comes at a time when many manufacturers and carmakers worldwide have turned to electrically powered engines towards a greener transition. While JCB has been at the forefront of this technology, electric engines, it seems, are just not good enough—primarily because larger machines have a higher energy requirement. This would result in larger batteries, which take longer to charge, making them less suitable for machines that work multiple daily shifts and do not have the downtime to recharge.
As a result, JCB has concentrated its development of electric machines on its compact range including the 525-60E loadall telehandler and the 19C-1E mini excavator—the world’s first electric mini excavator, as per the company.
Home run
JCB also has plans to manufacture the hydrogen engines in India, its single-largest market outside Europe. The company has, however, not announced any timeline yet. Bamford says: “We are investing in India all the time… If we make hydrogen engines commercially, we would be making them in India as well.”
In India, JCB has been making engines for well over a decade now. So, the prospect of manufacturing hydrogen combustion engines in the country is significant.
Also, the development comes at a time when India has been making a big push for green hydrogen to meet the climate goals. On January 4, the Union Cabinet approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission with an outlay of Rs 19,744 crore from FY 2023-24 to FY 2029-30. The overarching objective of the mission is to make India a global hub for production, usage and export of green hydrogen and its derivatives.
India’s green hydrogen production capacity is likely to reach 5 MMT per annum, with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of 125 GW, by 2030. The targets are likely to bring in over Rs 8 trillion investments and create over 6,00,000 jobs. Nearly 50 MMT per annum of CO2 emissions are expected to be averted by 2030, as per reports.
In August, the Union ministry of new and renewable energy notified the green hydrogen standard for India, outlining the emission thresholds for production of hydrogen that can be classified as ‘green’. India became one of the few countries to have a definition for green hydrogen.
“After discussions with multiple stakeholders, the ministry decided to define green hydrogen as having a well-to-gate emission of not more than 2 kg carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent per kg hydrogen (H2),” the ministry said in a statement.
The well-to-gate emission includes water treatment, electrolysis, gas purification, drying and compression of hydrogen. The scope of the definition encompasses both electrolysis-based and biomass-based hydrogen production methods.
At the moment, hydrogen is mostly captured by reforming carbon-based fuels using carbon capture technology, which is called blue hydrogen. The other way is to split water into oxygen and hydrogen using electrolytes. This is green hydrogen.
The road ahead
India’s auto sector reportedly accounts for about 18% of the total CO2 emissions in the country. The Bharat Stage (BS)-VI norms for automotive vehicles were implemented on April 1, 2020. As per the new norms, the emission of carbon monoxide is to be reduced by 30% and NOx by 80%. The BS-VI norms also set limits for hydrocarbon and particulate emissions, which were not specified in earlier norms.
To further reduce emissions to zero levels along with energy efficiency improvements, hydrogen is being hailed as one of the best fuel options. As per the Union ministry of new and renewable energy, hydrogen-blended natural gas (up to 18%) can be used in in-use vehicles. The current vehicles running with natural gas need minimal or no modifications for use of hydrogen-blended natural gas. “Hydrogen- blended fuel is one of the easiest ways to decarbonise the automotive sector. In the case of 100% hydrogen, a dedicated engine/vehicle needs to be developed. A zero-emission vehicle with hydrogen is the next important step beyond BS-VI norms,” the ministry adds.
Achieving a net-zero world on a global scale will be difficult, if not impossible, and the first thing we will need to do is find a sustainable fuel. JCB’s hydrogen engines are without doubt a step in the right direction. “I’m now convinced that hydrogen, more so than electric battery power, holds the key to bringing our global climate crisis under control. And yes, we can keep driving, keep building, keep flying, keep heating our homes—all without pumping any carbon dioxide or other toxic emissions into the atmosphere,” adds Bamford.
(The writer was in the UK at the invitation of JCB)
