Truck and engine builder Navistar International Corporation has reached terms with Cummins Inc. on a long-term supply of heavy-duty diesel engines and emissions after-treatment technologies. Navistar plans to offer the Cummins ISX15 diesels in its International® ProStar®+, PayStar® and 9900 trucks.
Also, Navistar will adopt the Cummins Emission Solutions after-treatment system for carbon-emission control on its proprietary heavy-duty big bore engines.
The terms of the supply agreement were not revealed. Cummins is a rival to Navistar in the production of diesel engines, and Navistar explained that its own engineers and others from Cummins have been collaborating for several months to integrate vehicle, engine, and emissions after-treatment systems.
Cummins “selective catalytic recirculation” (SCR) method for NOx emissions control will replace Navistar’s exhaust gas recirculation (ECR) process, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ruled is not an acceptable emissions control technology.
The manufacturer has struggled to arrive at an after-treatment technology for its diesel engines that will meet the EPA’s 2010 NOx emissions standard. The ECR process it co-developed was ruled insufficient by EPA, causing Navistar to seek out the SCR method used by Cummins, and others, in order to comply with the law and to avoid fines for violating the 2010 standard. Since EPA ruled out the ECR process in February, Navistar has relied on emission tax credits and paid penalties in its products in order to supply the market with its current engine and vehicle product lines.
The new arrangement with Cummins was announced in August, pending final negotiation, as Navistar unveiled its new plan to comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s NOx emissions standards. Navistar is preparing to launch a new “clean engine” technology for its engines, called In-Cylinder Technology Plus (ICT+), but the Cummins agreement will provide it with EPA-compliant engines in its current truck models.
Navistar plans to start initial production of its International ProStar+ series trucks with the Cummins ISX15 in November, and to make first deliveries to customers in December. Navistar’s International ProStar+ trucks with its own MaxxForce 13 engines, incorporating Cummins’ Emission Solutions SCR-based after-treatment system will start pilot production in March 2013, followed by regular production in April 2013.
"This agreement represents a natural extension of the long-standing relationship between Navistar and Cummins and our history of collaboration in serving our mutual customers," stated Navistar president and COO Troy Clarke. "With the addition of the Cummins ISX15 and the use of the proven Cummins after-treatment system, we are on a clear path to providing customers with proven, reliable and fuel-efficient clean engine technology."
The remaining Navistar heavy-duty truck models will transition to SCR-based after-treatment technology in a phased launch throughout 2013, according to volume and customer demand. Navistar noted that it will continue to build and ship EPA-compliant trucks throughout the transition period, using combinations of earned emissions credits and/or non-conformance penalties (NCPs).
