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Renewable Natural Gas
selective catalytic reduction, all that’s
required to address emissions is a three-
way catalyst similar to what you’d find
on a light-duty, spark-ignited vehicle.
And diesel requirements are soon to get
even more complex as EPA27 emissions
standards will require higher-performing
emissions aftertreatment systems includ-
ing electric heaters.
Waste Management’s Tufte said the
simplicity of natural gas engine tech-
nology is welcomed by his fleet’s 3,500
technicians.
Range is also improving. Eric Bippus,
executive vice-president, commercial
group with Hexagon Agility, noted 10
years ago a CNG-fueled truck might get
350-400 miles (560-640 km) of range.
Today, two back-of-cab tanks and two
side mounts can get a truck 1,200-1,300
miles (1,920-2,080 km) down the road.
But even though RNG trucks’ environ-
mental footprint can be carbon-negative,
regulators still worry about trace levels of
tailpipe emissions.
“We are in conversations with CARB
on a weekly basis, if not daily,” said
Cummins’ Spears. While Cummins is also
involved in building battery-electric and
hydrogen fuel-cell-electric powertrains,
Spears said the manufacturer currently
gets no credit for selling natural gas
engines. Regulators treat them the same
as diesels.
It’s a flawed approach that “is taking
winnings off the table now that you could
get while other technologies mature,”
Tufte said.
Lindsay pointed out CNG has the low-
est well-to-wheel carbon intensity of any
available fuel, even battery-electric. And
Spears notes the methane that’s convert-
ed to RNG rather than being released
into the atmosphere is 24 times as potent
as CO2.
Bankerd said more education is need-
ed to hammer these benefits home to
those who oversee the transport indus-
try’s emissions standards.
“Hydrogen has a great publicist,” he
said. “EV has a great publicist. They’re
very sexy. Internal combustion engines
have been around.”
“Our lived experience is one where
we’re seeing a lot of battery-electric tech-
nology replace other types of technolo-
gy,” agreed Spears, citing examples such
as power tools and lawnmowers. But he
contended “RNG doesn’t look like a step-
ping stone [to zero emissions]. It looks
like a long-term solution.”
Tufte added Waste Management is
already planning its truck orders for 2026
and 2027 and doesn’t feel electric is the
best option as of yet. “We can’t be forced
into a technology that is not ready when
you have to build a fleet plan and strate-
gy,” he said.
And, Bankerd added, “As sustainability
folks, we always talk about how to create
a circular economy and get away from
that ‘take, make and dispose’ model. RNG
puts us into that closed loop, circular
economy, and that’s where the powerful
message lays for the industry.” TT
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