Milestone in engine production
06 April 2021
FPT Industrial produces the 10 000th Cursor 13 NG engine with the collaboration of new Sherpa mobile robots
The 10 000th Cursor 13 NG (natural gas) engine rolled off the line of FPT Industrial’s plant in Bourbon-Lancy, France, last March.
The engine was unveiled in late 2017 and since then gained popularity in the market of commercial vehicles. FPT Industrial said that the Cursor 13 NG is currently the most powerful 100% natural gas engine available in the on-road segment and the first purely natural gas engine specially developed for long-haul missions.
The engine delivers power up to 338 kW (460 hp) at 1 900 r/min and torque up to 2 000 Nm at 1 100 r/min. The Cursor 13 NG runs on 100% natural gas, both in the compressed form (CNG) and in liquified form (LNG).
The Cursor 13 NG complies with Euro 6 Step C emission limits with stoichiometric combustion and a three-way catalyst only. It does not need exhaust gas recirculation or other aftertreatment systems. The engine’s CO₂ emission level is 9% lower than the diesel version and can reach near zero when using biomethane. The engine also reaches a 98% reduction in particulate matter emissions and -48% NOx emissions compared to Euro-6-compliant diesel engines. Natural gas engines also contribute to a decreased noise pollution lowering emissions during operation to less than 71 dB.
FPT Industrial’s French plant uses Sherpa mobile robots to optimize material handling and production flows.
FPT Industrial’s Bourbon-Lancy plant has been manufacturing Cursor range engines since 1998 and its current production includes C8, C9, C10, C11, C13 and C16 engine types for on-road, off-road, power generation and marine applications, with a workforce of 1 300 people.
The employees at the facility are supported by a new and very innovative group of work companions: the Sherpa smart & mobile collaborative robots by Sherpa Mobile Robotics. They make transporting loads and material handling even easier and streamline flows while saving space and increase flexibility all along the entire production chain, as they can autonomously locate themselves in their working environment and have no dedicated trajectories.
