Brightest Bulbs Cummins

Beyond its initial jazz and excitement, what is innovation?


Thomas and Satish start the debate by covering some of the innovation basics. These are relevant to anyone interested in innovation that is independent of your business, market and technology.



What is the difference between innovation and research & development?
How does innovation contribute towards a corporation’s sustainability?
The tension between innovating technologies at the core vs. beyond the core.
Practical examples to think about the uncertainty around innovations.
Four ingredients of successful innovation efforts.


The duo then dives into energy and power generation markets to debate the role innovation plays from new power generation technologies:



How innovation is deployed to create a more sustainable energy infrastructure.
What are the headwinds and tailwinds around innovation efforts within the energy and power generation sector?


Visit cummins.com/energy-iq for additional resources.
Special Guest: Satish Jayaram.

Humankind is forecasted to create more data over the next three years than the data we created over the last 30 years. Our digital lives, powered by technologies such as 5G and IoT, also impact our energy footprint.


Join Sarah and Thomas as they discuss how these technologies, 5G to edge computing, empower our digital lifestyles. They will then dive into the role of data centers in our digital lives and cover:



Differences between hyperscale and edge data centers
Energy and electricity consumed by data centers
Role of Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions in reducing the environmental footprint
How renewable energy certificates work as a decarbonization tactic


Whether you manage facilities, lead sustainability efforts, maintain power generators or focus on purchasing power system equipment, learnings from the data center industry could spark new ideas in your everyday job.


Visit cummins.com/energy-iq for additional resources.
Special Guest: Sarah Griffiths.

Whether it is your power generator at home, a larger power generation system at your facility, the electricity grid or the mobile equipment such as locomotives, boats and mining trucks, connected energy systems and power generators help facilities and mobile equipment all around the world.


Connected energy systems are not only cool but can also help drive clean energy transition within our electricity grid, and ensure business continuity, improving economics.
Join Thomas, Dana and Norbert as they share real life examples of how business owners, facility managers, operators and maintenance crews extract tangible value from their connected power generation systems and engines.


Independent of your industry, if you are an energy-minded professional or have a role focused on sustainability, energy management, facilities and mobile equipment, you will enjoy hearing the perspectives on the following debates:



What customer problems can connectivity solve in energy and power generation?
What is the difference across levels of connectivity between remote monitoring, diagnostics, condition-based maintenance and prognostics?
What is the role of human involvement as the connectivity technologies advance?
How will connectivity empower the electricity grid of the future?


Visit cummins.com/energy-iq for additional resources.
Special Guests: Dana Miller and Norbert Nusterer.

Mining trucks that carry loads as heavy as an airliner vs. the facilities of your company, or even your home; what do they each have in common?


They each feature similar engines within their power systems.


The mining sector consumes 4% of the world’s energy and leads many other sectors when it comes to energy innovations. Whether you oversee facilities, work in maintenance or lead a business, you could benefit from hearing about the mining industry’s journey in leveraging energy and power generation technologies and innovations in addressing economics and sustainability.


Join Thomas and Beau as they start with interesting anecdotes around the role of mining in our modern, connected lives. Did you know an average infant born today will need a lifetime supply of over 20 tons of lead, zinc, copper, aluminum, and iron? That is the same weight as about 14 passenger cars.


Thomas and Beau then dive into tech metals, and how human-kind’s recent focus on decarbonization, sustainability, digitalization and connectivity drive the rise of tech metals such as copper, lithium, cobalt, and nickel.


The duo then take the listeners through a virtual tour of a modern mine site and debate:



How do energy and power innovations help the mining industry improve sustainability and reduce environmental impact?
What makes some of the world’s top miners get recognized as the most innovative companies?
Healthcare facilities, data centers, manufacturing facilities or commercial buildings; learnings from the mining sector that other industries can leverage in their energy systems.
Why watch predictive analytics and prognostics closely?


Visit cummins.com/energy-iq for additional resources.
Special Guest: Beau Lintereur.

Microgrids, fuel cells, energy storage systems, batteries, low emission engines; a range of power generation and energy technologies are poised to get the spotlight this decade, and for good reasons.


Humankind’s need for energy went up every single year, except 2008, over the last three decades. The increased use of energy — electricity more specifically— puts increasing pressure on environmental sustainability and economics. This is where leading power generation technologies and innovations come to help businesses and the environment.


Join Thomas, Cathy and Gary as they discuss the energy and power generation technologies as well as innovations that will reduce emissions and speed up the clean energy transition.


The discussion starts with the role of economics and sustainability driving the need for innovations in energy and power generation markets. Thomas, Cathy and Gary then pivot to three energy and power generation technologies that will shape our decade: connectivity, microgrids and fuel cells. The team shares perspectives on each technology including how they work, their impact on environmental sustainability and how businesses leverage them.


Additional discussions covered in this episode include:



How does connectivity come to life in energy and power generation?
What is the linkage between microgrids and renewables and what is the environmental impact?
What exactly is a fuel cell?


Listen in if you enjoy knowing the latest in energy and power generation technologies and innovations.


Visit cummins.com/energy-iq for additional resources.
Special Guests: Cathy Y Choi and Gary Johansen.

80% of human-made greenhouse gas emissions are from carbon dioxide, and carbon dioxide emitted today would last for over a thousand years in the atmosphere. These are two reasons to pursue innovations in energy and power generation technologies focused on decarbonization as a part of environmental sustainability.


Join the conversation as Thomas, Srikanth and Jeff start the debate with the basics around primary greenhouse gases: carbon, methane and nitrous oxides. The group then debates what makes carbon dioxide get the spotlight when it comes to decarbonization efforts.


Then comes the carbon terms: carbon neutral, carbon zero and carbon negative; what are these and why are they important in our journey towards decarbonization of the electricity grid?


Beyond the basics, what does the future of decarbonization look like?


Many agree that renewables are the destination in the decarbonization of the grid. Thomas, Srikanth and Jeff discuss energy and power generation innovations needed in the journey towards decarbonization. Distributed generation is one of these technologies and works to integrate renewables into our grid. The team then covers the role of fuels, such as hydrogen and natural gas, in energy and power generation markets.


What else can energy-minded professionals expect from this discussion?


Whether you are a facility management professional, business leader or a sustainability champion, join the conversation to seek perspectives on the following questions:



Where do human-made carbon emissions come from?
What is the linkage between electricity consumption, carbon emissions and economic growth?
How does distributed generation help to integrate renewables and other low carbon electricity generation sources into our grid?


Visit cummins.com/energy-iq for additional resources.
Special Guests: Jeffrey Wiltrout and Srikanth Balasubramaniam.