12 cylinders, no diesel – Komatsu’s hydrogen dumper hits the dirt
KEYOU has bolted a 12-cylinder, full-bore hydrogen internal combustion engine into one of Komatsu’s massive dump trucks, with full testing now underway at Komatsu’s Ibaraki plant in Japan.
A collaboration between the Munich-based hydrogen specialists and the Japanese construction giant, the project aims to decarbonise heavy industry without losing the raw power and practicality that make diesel engines indispensable.
The truck is a proof-of-concept, testing whether hydrogen combustion can handle the workload of diesel. The engine was first fired up at KST in Bad Dürkheim, Germany, in early 2024, and by January 2025, full-vehicle testing had begun.
Burning hydrogen, not diesel
No batteries here – this is a hydrogen-burning 12-cylinder beast. Same mechanics, same torque, none of the diesel.
Fuel goes in, and with a suck, a squeeze, a bang and a blow, things move.
Hydrogen is stored in a 700-bar tank system from Argo-Anleg, mounted up near the cab to maximise fuel capacity.
Komatsu’s Chief Technology Officer, Taisuke Kusaba, said the project is a key step in the company’s carbon neutrality strategy: “With the great cooperation of KEYOU, we are pleased to announce the start of proof-of-concept tests by equipping a large dump truck with a hydrogen combustion engine”.
Komatsu is aiming for a 50% CO₂ emissions cut by 2030 (compared to 2010 levels), with full carbon neutrality by 2050.
KEYOU’s combustion-first hydrogen push
KEYOU has been refining hydrogen combustion for OEMs, adapting existing engines to run on H₂ while keeping their heavy-duty capability intact.
The company has also been developing its own hydrogen truck fleet, with the first 18-tonne model handed over to German logistics firm EP Trans in late 2023.
KEYOU’s Chief Operating Officer, Markus Schneider, called the Komatsu project its most important off-highway trial yet: “Our partnership with Komatsu is currently our most important customer project in the off-road commercial vehicle sector and demonstrates the performance capabilities of KEYOU-inside technology under extreme conditions.”
A practical route to hydrogen machines?
Realistically speaking, hydrogen combustion isn’t just a straight fuel swap – engines need some special tweaks to handle hydrogen’s different combustion properties.
But the core idea holds: keep the drivetrain, keep the performance, just take carbon out of the equation. No colossal reinvention, no compromises, just hydrogen burned clean.
And if Komatsu can make a 12-cylinder hydrogen dumper, what’s stopping supercar manufacturers like Ferrari from converting their V12s? That is yet to be seen. But machine manufacturers have taught the prancing horse a trick or two in the past…