Cummins to build electrolyzers in U.S.

Underscoring its continued push into green hydrogen, Cummins Inc. will begin manufacturing electrolyzers in the United States. Production will take place at the company’s Cummins Power Systems facilities in Fridley, Minn., starting at 500 MW of manufacturing capacity annually, scalable to 1 GW in the future.

Cummins announced it will begin manufacturing electrolyzers at its Fridley, Minn., facilities. (Photo: Cummins)

“Expanding Cummins’ electrolyzer manufacturing footprint to the United States is a milestone not only for our company but an important step in advancing global decarbonization efforts,” said Alexey Ustinov, vice president of Electrolyzers at Cummins. “This is a reflection of increasing government support through the Inflation Reduction Act, Hydrogen Hubs and a blossoming hydrogen economy in the states.

Cummins’ ability to leverage our manufacturing, engineering and sourcing knowledge to build capacity will help us meet increased customer demand and continue to accelerate the clean energy transition.”

Cummins plans to dedicate 89,000 sq. ft. of its existing Fridley facility to electrolyzer production. Initially, the facility will manufacture its HyLyzer 500 and HyLyzer 5000 proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers, with the potential to manufacture other electrolyzer products in the future. This range of products can accommodate power needs from 1.25 MW to more than 200 MW for both small- and large-scale hydrogen generation projects.

An electrolyzer separates water into oxygen and hydrogen. When the electrolyzer system is operated using renewable electricity – such as solar, wind or hydropower – the hydrogen it produces is “green” and carbon free. This green hydrogen can be stored as a compressed gas or a liquid and used as an energy-dense, clean power source to help decarbonize a variety of hard-to-abate sectors, such as heavy-duty transportation and industrial processes.

This new production space in Fridley adds to Cummins’ growing global electrolyzer development and manufacturing footprint. The company recently announced expansion of PEM electrolyzer manufacturing capacity at its Belgium factory to 1 GW and has added space to its Mississauga, Canada, site. Cummins is also building two new electrolyzer factories in Spain and China, each starting at 500 MW of manufacturing capacity and scalable to 1 GW.

“Expanding our electrolyzer capabilities to Minnesota is Cummins’ first step in enhancing our ability to serve North American customers and meet growing demand for large-scale electrolysis projects globally,” said Alex Savelli, managing director of Electrolyzers – Americas at Cummins. “The company continues to evaluate new opportunities to grow in North America that will enable us to extend our electrolyzer product range and manufacture next-generation technologies for larger, more demanding applications.”

Cummins has been active concerning hydrogen, including powering the world’s largest PEM electrolyzer in operation at 20 MW in Bécancour, Canada. It also built the world’s first megawatt-scale demonstration plant for storing wind energy in the natural gas grid in Windgas Falkenhagen, Germany, and provided the fuel cells and fuel for the world’s first 100% hydrogen-powered passenger train fleet in Lower Saxony, Germany. It also developed the world’s first hydrogen refueling station for ships, cars, trucks and industrial customers in Antwerp, Belgium.