Cummins Westport, a joint venture of Cummins and Westport Innovations, announced it will get about $250,000 in development funding for the B Gas Plus natural gas engine.

The funding, from the Gas Technology Institute of Des Plaines, Ill., covers a portion of the development costs.
Cummins Westport expects to introduce the B Gas Plus in September to replace the B5.9G engine, which has been in production since 1994. Over the past 20 years, GTI has funded several engine-related research and development projects, including support of the recently introduced Cummins Westport C Gas Plus heavy-duty engine.
"Our experience with the market-leading C Gas Plus suggests that the new B Gas Plus will be very attractive to fleet operators both in North America and overseas," said Hugh Foden, President of Cummins Westport Inc. "The Plus technology represents a dramatic improvement in reliability and performance compared with the original engine and the competition."
Like the 8.3-liter C Gas Plus introduced by Cummins Westport in 2001, the 5.9-liter B Gas Plus will be equipped with new electronics and sensors that can accommodate for and adjust instantly to variations in fuel composition. These electronics and sensors will allow the B Gas Plus to operate even with a natural gas composition as low as methane 65. The original B5.9G, by comparison, requires at least a methane number of 80.
A state-of-the-art Electronic Control Module (ECM) derived from the Cummins Interact System for engine management will make the B Gas Plus compatible with Cummins diesel diagnostic tools for troubleshooting repairs. With up to 230 horsepower, the B Gas Plus will be targeted at urban bus and truck fleets around the world. Cummins Westport expects to certify the engine for both North American and European emissions standards.
The B Gas Plus will be manufactured at the Cummins engine plant in Rocky Mount, N.C.