USA / Canada / Turkey - With more than 100 Bluebird Corporation buses now in operation with Cummins’ electric drivetrain in the USA and 65 buses on order with its transit bus builder partner, Gillig Corporation, and a number of key prospect electrification contracts in both the truck and bus segments on the horizon, the Cummins Electrified Power Business is expecting to ramp up its electrical drive systems over the coming months. This production ramp up announcement is according to Julie Furber, vice president, Electrified Power Business at Cummins Inc of Columbus, Indiana in discussion with Truck & Bus Builder at Busworld Turkey in Istanbul, Turkey, last month.

Furber said Cummins Inc has been working on electrification over many years by being involved in research projects and through its hybridization engine business, it was in 2017 that it put together its electrification operations as a commercial entity. “So over 2017, 2018 and 2019 we made several strategic acquisitions. We made two in batteries - one was Johnson Matthey Battery Systems in the UK and the other was in Brammo in Oregon, USA - as we quickly recognized that as a capability gap, we had. These two acquisitions have given us a good span in relevant technology, in terms of electrochemistry, low voltage and high voltage battery technology, battery management systems and so on. The acquisitions added around 120 people but since then we've added organically to the numbers of both companies. Brammo specialized in batteries for off-highway motorbikes and forklift trucks, which meant they know how to build for durability, for rugged operations and to withstand heavy vibration and G-forces. Subsequently, we were able to leverage those technologies into batteries for buses and off-highway equipment applications; and so, by putting these two companies together it has given us end to end capability.”