Cummins Receives DOE Grants

(photo courtesy of Cummins Inc.)

Columbus-based Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) has received two grants totaling $4.6 million from the U.S. Department of Energy. The company says the funding will advance commercialization of solid oxide fuel cell technology, which could help commercial and industrial customers reduce their carbon impact.

Cummins says SOFCs can convert fossil fuels into energy much more efficiently than combustion-based processes, and with a continuous supply of fuel and oxygen, the fuel cells can power a variety of applications.

“We need every tool we can get to address the world’s climate challenges and other environmental issues,” said Thad Ewald, Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Cummins. “Solid oxide fuel cells give our customers another way to achieve their environmental sustainability goals.”

Cummins says the grants will help fund two projects which demonstrate SOFCs’ potential. A $2.6 million grant will help the company build a 20 kilowatt, small-scale SOFC power system at the University of Connecticut.

A second project, which is being funded with the help of a $2 million grant, will look at the cost, performance and reliability of a reversible fuel cell, or R-SOFC. Cummins says the proposal calls for testing to begin in 2021.