Cummins buys Westport share of former joint venture

8 February 2022

Cummins Inc. and Westport Fuel Systems Inc. have agreed to a share purchase agreement for the sale of Westport’s stake in the Cummins Westport joint venture, with Cummins to operate the business as the sole owner.

The joint venture agreement between the two companies expired at the end of 2021. As part of the purchase agreement, Cummins will also buy Westport’s interest in the JV’s intellectual property, developed by the JV in support of the JV’s natural gas spark ignited engines, with proceeds to Westport of $20 million.

Cummins and Westport have also agreed to conduct an initial technical assessment of Westport’s H2 HPDI hydrogen high pressure direct injection system for potential use on CMI’s hydrogen applications.

Cummins and Westport established their 50-50 joint venture in 2001 to develop engines utilizing Wesport’s high pressure direct injection (HPDI) natural gas fuel system. However, HPDI engines have never been commercialized by Cummins Westport and their commercial products were instead based on spark ignited premixed charge technology. Westport pursued commercialization of HPDI, with only limited success, on their own and with other partners including Volvo and Weichai.

Over the years, Cummins Westport has developed and sold more than 100,000 5.9 to 12 L spark-ignited natural gas engines, mainly for truck and buses. For a number of years, Cummins Westport’s ISX12N engine was the highest rated gaseous fueled engine available at 400 hp, but last year, Cummins unveiled a new 15 L gas engine that will deliver ratings up to 500 hp.

Source: Cummins