PERKINS ENGINES COMPANY LTD

Their core work

Perkins Engines is a major manufacturer of diesel and industrial engines headquartered in Peterborough, UK, operating as a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. They produce engines for agricultural machinery, construction equipment, industrial power generation, and material handling — with a global installed base of millions of units. In the EU research ecosystem, they participate as an industry partner in Marie Curie Innovative Training Networks, contributing test facilities, engineering challenges, real-world fuel injection hardware, and validation environments for academic researchers working on combustion physics. Their engagement in H2020 is driven by practical need: increasingly stringent emissions regulations (EU Stage V, EPA Tier 4) are pushing engine manufacturers toward higher injection pressures and fuel-flexible combustion strategies.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (IPPAD, 2015-2019), Perkins engaged with fundamental questions about ultra-high injection pressure and supercritical fuel behavior — pushing single-fuel diesel combustion toward its physical limits. By their second project (EDEM, 2019-2024), the focus had shifted to dual-fuel engines and advanced CFD methods (DNS, LES), signaling a move from pressure extremes toward fuel flexibility and computational tools for engine design. This trajectory mirrors the broader industry shift: as pure diesel efficiency gains plateau, manufacturers are investing in gas-capable and alternative-fuel-ready architectures ahead of tightening emissions mandates.

Perkins is moving toward fuel-flexible engine platforms — dual-fuel and alternative fuel combustion — which makes them a natural industrial partner for consortia working on hydrogen-diesel, LNG, or low-carbon propulsion for non-road machinery.

How they like to work

Perkins participates exclusively as a consortium partner, never as project coordinator — consistent with how large manufacturers engage in MSCA training networks: they host doctoral researchers, provide test rigs and engineering problems, and act as an industry anchor rather than leading the academic agenda. With 23 unique partners across two projects, they work in moderately large consortia typical of multi-beneficiary ITN networks. This suggests they are comfortable as one of several industry partners alongside universities, rather than as the sole industrial voice.

Perkins has built connections with 23 distinct consortium partners across 10 countries through just two projects, reflecting the wide academic networks typical of MSCA-ITN consortia. Their collaboration footprint is European in scope, likely spanning combustion research universities in Germany, France, and Scandinavia alongside UK institutions.

What sets them apart

Perkins is one of very few non-road engine manufacturers in the H2020 ecosystem — most automotive combustion research involves car OEMs, leaving agricultural and construction engine problems underserved. As a Caterpillar subsidiary with global distribution and a massive real-world engine fleet, they offer consortium partners access to industrial-scale validation data and product-realistic test conditions that university labs cannot replicate. For any project needing an industry partner who bridges combustion fundamentals with commercial engine deployment, Perkins occupies a rare niche.

Highlights from their portfolio

• IPPAD
  Investigating injection at 4500 bar — one of the highest pressures explored in EU-funded combustion research — alongside supercritical phase change, placing Perkins at the frontier of diesel injection physics.
• EDEM
  Bridges experimental engine testing with DNS and LES computational methods for dual-fuel combustion, making it a rare industry-anchored project connecting high-fidelity simulation to production engine validation.