UK / USA – Engine maker, JCB Power Systems Ltd of Foston, UK (a subsidiary of J C Bamford Excavators Ltd (JCB) of Rochester, UK), has announced a major production milestone with its 50th hydrogen combustion engine coming off the group engine plant in Foston.

JCB states the engines, which are being fitted into a variety of its construction machinery products currently, result from a multi-year project involving more than 100 engineers and an investment of some GBP 100 million to produce hyper-efficient engines at scale.

The announcement of the new engine was posted on social media by bus builder, Wrightbus of Ballymena; an associated company, owned by Jo Bamford, the son of JCB Chairman, Lord Anthony Bamford.

Lord Bamford, JCB Chairman commented:

The JCB engineering team has done a fantastic job to develop a brand-new hydrogen engine. They have gone back to first principles to completely re-design the combustion process to work for hydrogen. In doing so they have achieved two major things: secured JCB’s place in history as the first construction equipment company to develop a fully working combustion engine fuelled by hydrogen and steered us towards the production of a landmark 50 hydrogen combustion engines.

The  hydrogen ICE will make its official debut at the Conexpo 2023 show being held on March 14-18, 2023, in Las Vegas, USA.