Chevron, Cummins, Walmart join in X15N NGV engine test

US major Chevron, engine manufacturer Cummins and retailer Walmart said April 18 they had joined in the North American debut test of Cummins’ X15N natural gas engine in Walmart’s private trucking fleet.

The X15N, the natural gas version of Cummins’ new fuel-agnostic engine platform, will debut in a Walmart truck making an inaugural trip from Indiana to California, stopping along the way to fuel at Chevron-operated compressed natural gas (CNG) and renewable natural gas (RNG) fueling stations.

At the end of the test, the X15N will be featured at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in Anaheim, California May 1-4.

Last year, Walmart announced a broad initiative to make its fleet of Class 8 trucks cleaner, in support of its goal to achieve net zero by 2040. The X15N truck making the inaugural road trip is the first of five that will eventually be incorporated into Walmart’s fleet.

“Walmart transportation is focused on the continuous piloting of solutions that aren’t just changing the industry, but are having a lasting impact on the world,” said Fernando Cortes, senior vice president of transportation at Walmart. “We are proud to team with Cummins and Chevron to develop industry-leading advancements that pave toward a lower carbon future.”

Puneet Jhawar, general manager, spark ignited products for Cummins, said the Walmart road test will provide valuable real-world data that will help the engine manufacturer validate the X15N prior to moving to full production. Earlier this month, Cummins said it would invest $1bn across its US engine manufacturing network to prepare for the X15N, which will go into production later this year at its Jamestown Engine Plant in western New York.

“Chevron has also been very helpful in our test, to help increase CNG fuel availability that will enable adoption of alternate technologies faster,” Jhawar said.