Cummins recently launched the X15 engine, the newest member of the HELM 15-liter fuel agnostic platform—and Cummins’ “most efficient heavy-duty diesel engine ever,” the manufacturer reports.
The diesel X15, designed to serve the on-highway market, complies with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board 2027 regulations, Cummins added.
“We have applied our decades of experience with the X15 to our next-generation product and believe these investments will serve our customers well into the future,” José Samperio, Cummins vice president of North America on-highway, said in a news release. “The next generation X15 is the next evolution of technology, truly proving to the world that we never stop innovating.
“We are working hard to ensure the new product delivers our brand promise to customers for the important jobs they need to do every day.”
Maintaining the traditional reliability and lower operating costs that have met the needs of a diverse customer base since the inaugural X15 launch in 1998, the next generation, advanced diesel X15 will feature improved greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency benefits while retaining the same ratings of the current X15 (up to 605 horsepower and 2,050 ft.-lb. of torque) and optimizing powertrain integration with Eaton Cummins and Cummins-Meritor.
“Today, we re-introduce our fuel agnostic engine platforms with a name that captures the innovation that powers us forward: the Cummins HELM platforms,” said Jane Beaman, Cummins vice president of global on-highway business. “With higher efficiency, lower emissions, and multiple fuels, the Cummins HELM platforms give our customers control of how they navigate their own journeys as part of the energy transition.
“They can choose the fuel types that work best for them, their businesses, and their goals.”
This next-generation engine is designed to have the capability to meet future emissions regulations beyond 2027 without the need for significant architecture changes. This investment will help the company maintain technology leadership for the next decade as it continues to fund future research and development in hydrogen and alternative-fuel engines, battery electric and fuel cell powertrains, Cummins said.
“This new architecture expands on the legacy of the X15 engine,” said Jonathon White, Cummins VP of engine business engineering. “All teams involved recognize how important this product is and what it means for both Cummins and our customers’ future as the base architecture will carry us through the horizon of diesel technology and alternate fuels.”
From its inception, the next generation X15 was developed with Cummins’ fully integrated powertrain in mind. The X15 architecture utilizes a belt-driven, high output 48-volt alternator and aftertreatment heater solution, optimized for increasingly stringent emission standards.
Customers taking advantage of EX ratings (requires Eaton Cummins Endurant and GPS look-ahead data) with Cummins Meritor axles, brakes and drivelines will experience additional optimized fuel efficiency and drivability through features such as predictive gear shifting, on-ramp boost, and hill roll out.