News
Hydrogen tech on display JCB, as recently and widely reported, has invested a great deal of
time and around £100million in developing a hydrogen-based combustion engine. At a recent press event at JCB’s manufacturing facility, we got to see the new block in pristine solo format and in convincing action at the company’s test quarry. As well as being the lightest and most abundant element in the
known universe, Hydrogen, when used as fuel, produces a great deal of energy by weight and emits nothing but H2O as an exhaust. It can be harvested cleanly using renewable energy, although fossil fuels are also used in production. Hydrogen fuel cell technology is already employed in vehicles,
generators and other equipment, but JCB engineers have devised a new engine that is much more akin to a traditional internal combustion engine in both construction, fuelling and general operation. This has entailed some clever thinking, as hydrogen is much lower
in density than regular liquid fuels. JCB’s new hydrogen engine is thus built from the ground-up, rather being a straightforward conversion, with the gas injected at a much lower temperature and pressure to be in the right state for combustion. This also required a much different sort of spark plug, which JCB designed to work specifically with the new fuel. This necessitated a different
sort of lubricant too, as regular lubricants would not be compatible with a system that basically produces a lot of water. JCB devised its own ‘additive pack’ that traps the water, which is then boiled off as the engine heats up. Hydrogen combustion also needs a lot of air, which
entailed the development of a high efficiency turbo charger that helps create the perfect combustible mix. There’s much more R&D ongoing, as you might imagine, some of
which we were able to see in progress at JCB’s test lab – an exceedingly rare privilege, we were assured. And then we were transported to the JCB quarry to see some of the new machines employing hydrogen tech in operation – a telehandler, a large excavator, a backhoe and the new hydrogen refuelling vehicle – and it all just worked. The big digger, which used a fuel cell, took a short while to get up to speed, but the other machinery sounded the same as regular equipment and can operate for up to 12 hours on a single tank of the fuel. Site hydrogen storage is already in development, but the JCB refuelling vehicle (above) – itself somewhat larger than imagined – is a neat workaround until then. So there it all is, for the time
being. Battery power is perhaps not a long-term solution, at least while rare earth materials are involved, but hydrogen fuels offer a cleaner and greener alternative – and one that is just familiar enough while being entirely cutting edge. JCB has much more work to do, of course, but put on a confident and rather assuring display in the meantime. We look forward to further news and announcement in the year ahead.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE Find out more about JCB hydrogen tech and keep up to date with the latest developments at
www.jcb.com/en-gb/campaigns/hydrogen
16 Executive Hire News - January/February 2023
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