Caterpillar has launched a programme to demonstrate an advanced hydrogen-hybrid power solution for off-highway applications
The three-year programme will start in Q1 2024 and will be aimed at developing a transient-capable system, built on its new Cat 13D engine platform.
Supported and partially funded by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), industry and academic collaborators will be brought into the programme to provide additional expertise as research progresses.
Steve Ferguson, senior vice president Caterpillar Industrial Power Systems, remarked, “Every off-highway application has its own unique duty cycles, lifecycle demands and performance expectations, and this complexity is driving the development of a wide range of power solutions for the energy transition. One size does not fit all, which is why we’ve engineered flexibility into the C13D engine to serve as our platform of the future.”
The Cat13D engine was first unveiled at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023 and is expected to be available for OEM pilots in 2025 before production in 2026. It is targeted for a wide range of off-highway equipment including rock crushers, screeners, and grinders; trenchers; agriculture tractors, harvesters, self-propelled sprayers and woodchippers; material-handling equipment; and large industrial pumps.
