Weichai certifies world’s first China VI hydrogen heavy-duty engine

Weichai Power has announced that its independently developed WP15 hydrogen direct‑injection engine for heavy-duty vehicles has successfully passed the full China VI vehicle emission certification tests.

The achievement makes it the first heavy‑duty hydrogen internal combustion engine in both China and the world to comply with the country’s stringent China VI emission standard.

The certification was conducted under the complete operating cycle required by China’s national heavy-duty engine emission standards. Testing covered a full range of operation condition, including cold start, low‑speed idling, high‑speed full‑load, and transient variable load changes, verifying the engine’s emission performance, reliability and stability in real‑world applications.

The WP15 adopts a hydrogen direct-injection, spark-ignited architecture with a 14.6-litre displacement, producing 447 kW (600 horsepower) and 2,800 Nm of torque. Maximum brake thermal efficiency reaches 46.8 per cent.

Weichai claims the combination delivers strong power output and low fuel consumption while eliminating direct carbon emissions across the engine’s full operating range.

More than 90 per cent of components are shared with conventional diesel platforms, reducing production, retrofit and maintenance costs.

The engine tolerates lower hydrogen purity grades than competing designs, which Weichai says will lower end-user fuel costs and ease the commercial transition from fossil fuels in heavy transport.

Target applications include long-haul trucks, mining dump trucks, port equipment, steel mill vehicles and large hydrogen power generators.

The architecture is designed to replicate the load capacity and range of diesel equivalents in sectors where battery-electric solutions face weight and range constraints.