Cummins Inc. has received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s blessing on a redesigned engine that will meet the first-ever set of federal standards for heavy-duty truck emissions.

The Columbus-based diesel-engine manufacturer announced Monday that its ISX15 engine, used primarily in commercial semis, meets environmental mandates that go into effect in 2014.

The new engine model should improve fuel efficiency by 2 percent compared with the current model, which came out in 2010, Cummins says.

The development places the company ahead of its competitors in a race to launch EPA-compliant engines, said company spokesman Jon Mills.

The looming environmental regulations have trounced Cummins competitor Navistar Inc. The Lisle, Ill.-based company bet on a different engine technology to meet the standards, but results fell short of governmental expectations.

Cummins’ ISX15 starts a wave of engines that should receive EPA approval by the end of the year, Mills said. Production of the engine will begin in early 2013.

Heavy-duty trucks are Cummins’ second-largest market for its engines, behind industrial engines. Heavy-duty trucks netted $807 million, which accounted for about 28 percent of company engine sales in the second quarter and about 18 percent of all sales.