Cummins will open a new facility in Herten, Germany in 2021. The facility will initially focus on the assembly of fuel cell systems, with plans to expand in the future to support fuel cell stack refurbishment.

With the capacity of 10 megawatts per year and space for research and development, the facility will “better position us to provide critical support to customers in Europe and strategically strengthen our position to be a leader in tomorrow’s hydrogen economy,” said Amy Davis, President of New Power at Cummins.

To mark the start of construction, an official ground-breaking ceremony took place late last year at the site, attended by the Transport Minister Hendrik Wüst, Mayor Matthias Müller, District Administrator Bodo Klimpel, H2-Network-Ruhr Board Member Volker Linder, Member of the State Parliament Carsten Locker, Cummins Managing Director Fuel Cells Bernd Pitschak and others involved with the project. Due to COVID-19 the guestlist was smaller than planned and all social distancing protocols were observed.

Once an old mine, the site is now a nucleus for emission-free energy. The city of Herten has long been committed to attracting technology companies, particularly in the new energy space. “We are very pleased with this building project. It is a milestone in the efforts of the town of Herten to become a significant location for hydrogen technology,” said Mayor Matthias Müller.

With a number of successes in Europe already, and construction well underway, the site adds to the list of New Power facilities in the region, including Oevel, Belgium, Gladbeck, Germany and Milton Keynes, UK.