Trucking businesses and shippers that hire them make significant commitments to reduce their carbon footprint, such as being carbon-neutral by 2030. The hard work begins once the promises are made because achieving net-zero or better takes more than operational improvements.
To progress beyond even the cleanest diesel platform, new business models and cost-effective alternative technologies are required. Renewable natural gas (RNG) has emerged as the primary low-carbon, clean-air transportation option. RNG is currently assisting sustainable enterprises in decarbonizing their transportation for three compelling reasons.
RNG is the lowest carbon-emitting transportation fuel on the market.
Organic material in green waste, food waste, landfills, sewage treatment, and livestock manure makes RNG. These organic wastes degrade naturally into methane. Methane is a short-lived solid climatic pollutant and greenhouse gas that seeps into the atmosphere. Methane can be gathered and transformed into a drop-in substitute fuel for traditional natural gas rather than released into the atmosphere.
RNG decreases carbon in two ways when used for vehicle fueling: first, it captures methane that would otherwise escape into the atmosphere, and second, it replaces high-carbon diesel fuel, another short-lived climate pollutant (i.e., black carbon). From the cradle to the grave, the California Air Resources Board monitors carbon emissions from fuels. The carbon intensity of traditional fossil fuels and low-carbon alternative fuels is depicted in the graph below. RNG made from dairy manure emits carbon dioxide at a fraction of the level of diesel fuel. RNG has the potential to be carbon-intensive in a negative way, which is a game-changer. By replacing only 25% of a fleet’s diesel trucks with negative carbon-intensive RNG made from dairy manure, a fleet’s carbon emissions can be reduced by 100%.
RNG is currently in general use across North America. Because additional RNG supply is rapidly entering the market, RNG is not a bridge fuel. According to research conducted by the University of California at Davis and the Lawrence Livermore National Lab, California-produced RNG may replace the 3 billion gallons of diesel fuel used in the state each year. According to y the American Gas Foundation research, RNG supply can range between 10 and 35 billion gallons of gasoline per year. RNG is a destination fuel that can currently power clean CNG vehicles and will be able to power hydrogen or electric trucks if those technologies mature.
RNG trucks help to improve the quality of the air we breathe.
Many parts of the United States have unhealthy air, and diesel trucks contribute significantly to local air pollution. This air pollution problem affects the broader Southern California area, California’s Central Valley, Houston, Dallas, Salt Lake City, and other metro areas. Air pollution causes respiratory, cardiovascular, and other diseases. COVID-19 susceptibility, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer have all been linked to local air pollution in studies. Local air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) and diesel particulate matter are abundant in diesel trucks. Diesel particulate matter is carcinogenic air pollution that is classed as a harmful air contaminant. RNG-powered trucks emit 90 percent less NOx than a new diesel truck and more than 98 percent less NOx than many diesel trucks on the road today. When it comes to hazardous diesel particulate matter, RNG-powered trucks emit none.
There’s more to this narrative than what happens at the tailpipe, though. Alternative technologies that do not emit through a tailpipe are receiving a lot of attention. Because the grid is generally powered by natural gas, coal, and other fossil fuels, RNG vehicles emit nearly the same amount of local air pollutants as a battery-electric truck charged by the grid.
RNG trucks are cost-effective.
RNG is less expensive than diesel. With today’s increasing diesel rates, fuel savings are even more critical. The price of RNG is also less volatile than the price of petroleum fuel. Due to a more straightforward pollution control system, RNG vehicles have a lower maintenance cost. RNG trucks, like cars, have a passive catalytic converter emissions control system. Unlike a diesel truck with a complicated diesel particle filter and selective catalytic reduction, which is essentially a wandering chemistry set, the catalytic converter requires no maintenance. As the truck ages, the diesel emissions control system becomes less effective, necessitating more frequent and costly repair. Compared to a diesel truck, the higher purchase cost of an RNG vehicle is immediately offset by fuel savings and lower maintenance and upkeep.
In comparison to other emerging clean technologies, RNG trucks have excellent economics. The cost of these developing technologies is 200 to 300 percent more than that of RNG vehicles. The infrastructural prices for charging or fueling these new technologies are significantly higher than for RNG fueling. At half to a third of the cost of existing technologies, an RNG truck reduces carbon emissions and improves air quality.
Today’s leaders are taking action.
Climate and air pollution are issues that exist now and will continue to live in the future. While it is commendable for businesses to set aspirational objectives to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in the future, RNG trucks provide the possibility to achieve net-zero carbon emissions right away. Over the last 14 years, RNG truck technology has been proven and perfected. Cummins manufactures RNG engines in large quantities. Freightliner, Peterbilt, Kenworth, Volvo, and Mack all manufacture RNG trucks in large amounts. Infrastructure for RNG fueling is now available across North America and is rapidly developing. Clean Energy alone has more than 560 fuelling stations at customer sites and retail outlets.
RNG is the lowest carbon fuel available, and it provides an inexpensive, proven, and scalable alternative to diesel today. Thousands of RNG trucks are deployed by Amazon, UPS, Waste Management, Saia, Estes, and TTSI. What do these industry leaders in sustainability know?
