(Cummins Inc./3BL Media) When Cummins’ Chief Technical Officer thinks about the global power leader’s aspiration to be carbon neutral by 2050, he’s inspired by the industry’s past success fighting smog.
“What gives me confidence that we’re actually going to be able to get there is looking in the rear-view mirror and seeing the innovation that has occurred over the last 30 years to get us to where we’re at today,” Jim Fier told participants at Work Truck Week 2021, a celebration of the commercial truck business, which was held virtually this month because of the pandemic.
Thirty years ago, diesel engine makers began what would be a remarkable success story. Working to meet increasingly tougher standards set by government regulators, the industry steadily reduced oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions, two key contributors to smog.