One of the largest construction equipment trade shows in the world saw the international debut of JCB’s £100 million effort to manufacture extremely efficient hydrogen engines.

The groundbreaking project to create hydrogen combustion engines is being worked on by a team of 150 engineers, and more than 50 prototypes have already been produced at JCB’s UK engine plant.

In Las Vegas, as part of the International Fluid Power Exhibition (IFPE), the brand-new JCB hydrogen combustion engine, the company’s zero-carbon emissions solution for construction and agricultural equipment, was unveiled.

Machines like Loadall telescopic handlers and backhoe loaders are already powered by prototype JCB hydrogen engines. By retrofitting one of the incredibly efficient hydrogen engines into a 7.5-ton Mercedes truck, which took just days to complete, JCB has also achieved a significant advancement in demonstrating the wider appeal of hydrogen combustion technology. In order to get the fuel to the equipment, JCB also displayed its very own planned and constructed mobile refueling bowser. The bowser may be pulled behind a modified JCB Fastrac tractor or on a trailer. It has enough hydrogen gas within to fill 16 hydrogen backhoe loaders.

The latest diesel engines developed to comply with European Stage V rules have already achieved a 97% decrease in NOx emissions since 1999 and a 98% reduction in particulates, demonstrating JCB’s dedication to decreasing emissions, which dates back over 25 years. In addition, thanks to JCB’s efforts to cut fuel usage, modern JCB machines use, on average, 50% less gasoline than those produced more than ten years ago. 53 million tonnes of CO2 or 16 billion liters of gasoline have been saved as a result.

In July 2020, JCB announced the first-ever hydrogen-powered excavator for the construction industry, a 20-tonne 220X, as part of its research and development into hydrogen.