From staff reports Arkansas-based J.B. Hunt trucking firm has become the first large transportation company to take part in tests involving a new renewable natural gas engine produced by Clean Energy Fuels Corp. of California.
CEFC, the largest provider of renewable natural gas for the transportation industry, announced it is launching a program to enable heavy-duty fleets to operate a truck equipped with the new Cummins X15N engine. The first company to participate in the program is J.B. Hunt Transport Inc., one of the largest commercial fleet operators with extensive logistics and transportation services in North America.
The 2025 Peterbilt 579 day-cab tractor, branded in Clean Energy’s signature green and equipped with Cummins’ 15-liter X15N natural gas engine, will be available for fleets to test on their normal routes in up to twoweek intervals. Fleets operating the demo truck will be able to utilize Clean Energy’s fueling infrastructure, which consists of more than 600 stations across North America, 200 of which have public tractor-trailer access.
Clean Energy’s X15N demo truck program is expected to run through 2025 or longer.
The truck will make its way through large and medium size heavy-duty trucking companies in Oklahoma, Texas, California, Arizona, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, and other states. This fall, other industry carriers will follow J.B. Hunt to challenge the capabilities of the new engine running on low-carbon renewable natural gas.
“As a solutions-driven industry leader, we are constantly exploring and testing opportunities that have the potential to deliver value for customers who are looking to reduce carbon emissions in their supply chain,” said Greer Woodruff, executive vice president of safety, sustainability and maintenance at J.B. Hunt.
The company looks forward to getting “hands-on experience with the Cummins X15N tractor,” Woodruff said.
Vehicles powered by renewable natural gas produce significantly less carbon emissions throughout their lifecycle and are more compatible with today’s available infrastructure than most competing emissions reduction technologies. “The new technology and supporting fuel network in this pilot have the potential to be a viable, cost-effective solution for customers wanting to decrease their carbon footprint in the near term,” he said.
J.B. Hunt has worked closely with original equipment manufacturers, fuel suppliers and infrastructure developers for more than 15 years to study the economic and operational viability of natural-gas powered vehicles and their potential to reduce greenhouse gases. Today, J.B. Hunt operates more than 180 renewable natural gas-powered vehicles on behalf of customers.
Alternative powered vehicles and adoption of biogenic fuels are two essential components for the company to achieve its goal to reduce its carbon emissions intensity 32% by 2034 from a baseline year of 2019.
In 2023, J.B. Hunt surpassed the halfway mark for reaching that goal. Complementary to achieving its goal, the company’s intermodal service offering leads the industry in converting over-the-road shipments to rail, which on average reduces a shipment’s carbon footprint by 65% versus highway truck transportation.
The Cummins X15N engine is being tested by some of the country’s biggest and most demanding fleets. It is receiving praise for its capability to haul heavy loads for an 800+ mile range and is delivering on similar power and torque to its diesel counterpart, the X15.
Renewable natural gas is a biogenic fuel made entirely from organic waste at facilities such as sanitary landfills and dairy farms. Agriculture accounts for more than 10% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and the transportation sector accounts for another 28%, according to the EPA. Capturing methane from farm waste lowers these emissions.