Frequently asked questions

Heavy Duty Fleet Decarbonization needs to start today with technologies that are readily available today. The use of renewable natural gas can be an effective tool to combat climate change due to its capture of fugitive methane emissions at their source and the repurposing of the renewable natural gas (biomethane) for use in transportation which emits a smaller CO2 emission profile. Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) is quite unique to other alternative fuel technologies like EV, H2, and Renewable Diesel because it can be supplied at scale in almost every market in North America where there is natural gas grid infrastructure. While R-CNG trucks qualify for some federal, state, and provincial grants, it does not require significant grant funding in order to make economic sense. Fleet customers are beginning to prioritize fleets focused on sustainability and decarbonization and may be willing to pay more or award additional business to sustainable fleets.

This depends on a whole host of factors including whether the fleet has its own CNG station or if it is using a public, fast-fill CNG station, what market the fueling is taking place, the price of natural gas, and whether the fleet received truck incentives from a fuel supplier. If a fleet has invested in its own CNG station infrastructure, it can expect to see a lower, landed cost of fuel. It can also take advantage of both that Alternative Fuel Tax Credit (AFTC) which is worth $0.50/GGE for each gallon dispensed as well as secure supply of RNG and realize the value from various federal and state credit programs. These credit programs will help to further lower the cost of fuel as they act as revenue streams to offset dispensing costs. 

 Per the U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center, the Average Retail Price of compressed natural gas over the last 23 years has been $1.98/GGE. In that same time-period, the Average Retail Price of diesel has been $2.69/GGE. While this spread may seem close in nature, these savings can be quite significant when comparing large CNG fleets vs. large diesel fleets over the full fleet lifecycle. The $1.98/GGE price average also does not account for the RNG value that is generated from the various credit markets, so it is most likely much greater. The other significant factor benefitting CNG fleets is that the price of natural gas has proven to be much less volatile over time as compared to diesel. Price predictability can be very beneficial for fleets that enter into long-term freight contracts with their customers.

CNG trucks meet both government agencies' NOx emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks. Thanks to Cummins's continued investment in the CNG engine platform, natural gas trucks have a Low NOx, near-zero natural gas engine that emits 0.02 g NOx/bhp-hr. CARB has recently agreed to align its NOx emissions standards to the EPA's Low NOx Rule. Beginning with Model Year 2027, all trucks sold must have NOx emissions at or below 0.35 g NOx/bhp-hr. This means that CNG trucks are already well below this standard and do not require any aftertreatment (like diesel particulate filters, DEF, etc.) to be able to continue meeting this target. At the same time, in order for diesel trucks to meet these NOx emissions standards in the future, they will require increased amounts of aftertreatment which means a higher cost of operation for fleets.

Separately, CARB has mandated 100% adoption of ZEV trucks by 2042 at the latest (fleet-type dependent). CARB defines ZEV trucks as trucks without a tailpipe or trucks that don't emit CO2 emissions. What this means is that the only truck technologies with a future in California, and other states following California, are Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and Hydrogen Vehicles (H2). Meeting this timeline will require a massive buildout of BEV and H2 infrastructure in a short amount of time. Right now, fleets are in a time period known as the "messy middle" because ZEV truck technology and infrastructure is not fully developed and is extremely costly for fleets to adopt. While we wait on this ZEV technology to scale up and drop in cost, fleets should be looking at alternative fuels like Renewable Natural Gas to meet their emissions reduction targets in a cost-competitive way.