Kohler Energy Expands Clean Energy Offering with Hydrogen Engine and Fuel-Cell Power System
Kohler Energy announces a new hydrogen KDI engine and its first-ever hydrogen fuel cell power system, expanding a growing portfolio of clean energy solutions.
Building off the recent announcement of Kohler Co. establishing Kohler Energy as an independent company, this news further accelerates Kohler Energy’s strategy to provide the broadest range of clean energy and hydrogen-ready solutions for off-highway equipment and standby and prime power applications for residential and industrial solutions from 20kw to 5MW+.
“This marks an exciting moment in the future of our energy company,” said Brian Melka, group president – Kohler Energy. “As governments, businesses, and individuals look for ways to reduce their carbon footprint, we’re likewise pursuing ways to positively contribute to decarbonization through new technologies and advanced engineering to develop solutions that utilize clean energy sources. We believe we can provide the broadest array of solutions, especially in hydrogen, given our unique footprint across diverse end markets.”
Alongside HVO and e-fuels, Kohler Energy is committed to investing in innovative engine technologies that improve energy efficiency and significantly reduce environmental impact, while still meticulously tailored to the diverse spectrum of machinery requirements. As such, the hydrogen internal combustion engine will be applied to the KDI 2504 TCR, with the ability to provide the same performance and power density as the starting diesel engines but using a carbon-neutral solution.
Also, Kohler Energy’s industrial business will launch its first hydrogen fuel cell power system, a 100 kW Solid Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cell, using green hydrogen, for emergency backup, peak shaving and demand response. The system is suitable for a broad range of mission-critical power users including hospitals, data centers, utilities, ports and water treatment plants.
The hydrogen engine was unveiled at the Agritechnica trade show in Hanover, Germany, last month and in-field case studies with the hydrogen fuel cell will begin in early 2024, with more information to be provided in the coming weeks.
For more details, visit kohler.com/energy.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.