Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) Joint Initiative Program

Joint industry program to launch hydrogen demonstration combustion vehicle; SuperTurbo is a key technology for the program

  • Southwest Research Institute, a non-profit contract research organization, has created a joint industry program (JIP) that will retrofit a Class 8 heavy-duty vehicle with a hydrogen engine to demonstrate near term pathway toward elimination of greenhouse gas tailpipe emissions for heavy duty applications where battery and fuel cell technologies are not sufficiently mature for wide scale adoption
    • The centerpiece of the project is the Cummins X15N natural gas engine which will be adapted for port-injected hydrogen fueling and integrated into a Navistar LT series commercial chassis for complete on-road technology demonstration
    • In addition to near zero CO2 tailpipe emissions, the vehicle will also demonstrate 0.02 g/hp-hr NOx emissions utilizing current Low NOx aftertreatment technology
  • TT was selected as the sole boosting device to enable the proper control of air-flow (lambda) in order to minimize NOx emissions
    • Once completed, the H2-ICE vehicle will make appearances at trade shows and ride-and-drive events across the country to demonstrate the technology’s potential as a realistic pathway for decarbonization
    • Program Milestones:
      • 1H 2023: Hydrogen engine commission
      • 2H 2023: Hydrogen engine calibration and vehicle integration
      • 1H 2024: Vehicle completion and launch of demonstrations

“The new initiative will create a working demonstration of current technology’s capabilities for decarbonization and achieving zero or near-zero emissions of both greenhouse gasses and criteria pollutants… We believe that sustainably sourced hydrogen in an internal combustion engine, when used in combination with other decarbonization and clean emissions technologies, can provide low emissions that are competitive with both battery and fuel-cell electric vehicles.”

–Dr. Terry Alger, Executive Director of SwRI’s Sustainable Energy and Mobility Directorate

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