The use of RNG is just one of the ways the company is reducing the carbon load of the concrete it produces -- benefitting the environment and helping customers reduce project carbon footprints to comply with new guidelines and regulations. The switch to RNG-fueled vehicles is just one part of NRMCC’s major four-point environmental commitment, along with lower carbon mix designs, advanced high-sulfate-resistant, low-carbon Portland-Limestone Cement (Type 1-L), and instant digital Environmental Product Declarations.

What is RNG and Why is it Important?

RNG is a pipeline-quality gas that’s fully interchangeable with conventional natural gas and can be used in natural gas vehicles. RNG starts as biogas (the gaseous product of the decomposition of organic matter). The biogas that becomes NRMCC’s RNG originates from dairy farming operations, which generate methane gas. After being collected, the biogas is conditioned to become RNG, which involves the removal of water, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and other trace elements.

“We've invested a significant amount of capital in our fleet,” said NRMCC President Steve Lode, “and we've done so in conjunction with grants that were made available through the state of California.

“We’ve upgraded both our ready-mix concrete delivery vehicles and our two axle tractors… All of those vehicles run on renewable natural gas with a carbon intensity score of negative 200,” Lode said.

With its negative 200 carbon intensity score, RNG sourced from dairy waste has the lowest carbon intensity score of any fuel pathway as certified by California Air Resources Board in 2019 and adjusted for heavy-duty truck applications. Standard diesel fuel, by contrast, has a carbon intensity score of positive 100.

The New Environmentally Friendly Fleet NRMCC’s fleet conversion began in June 2020. The company chose Cummins Westport 9L Near-Zero natural gas mixers and Cummins Westport 12L Near-Zero haulers. As of April 2023, the company was operating 89 Cummins L9N engines with Peterbilt 567 cab and chassis nad 41 Cummins ISX12N engines with Peterbit 579 cab and chassis.

To support the new clean fleet, NRMCC has built and commissioned private RNG refueling stations – with both slow and fast fill capabilities – at it’s Vernon, Santa Clarita, Glendale, and Irwindale facilities. The complex changeover has involved training mechanics, drivers, and other personnel on the new equipment and systems. But any initial skepticism was quickly overcome, and the transition to RNG has gone quite smoothly and is producing benefits for both NRMCC and is customers, Lode said.

“The Cummins engine technology and our partnership with Cummins is fantastic,” Lode said. “Our mechanics and repair personnel and had extensive training both at the local truck center, and Cummins also came in and provided extensive training for our mechanics.”

The changes are winning NRMCC recognition from customers, environmentalists, and industry peers alike. In 2021, NRMCC was recognized with an award for its RNG program by NGVAmerica, a national organization dedicated to developing RNG as an economical, clean, safe, and abundant transportation fuel. Presenting the award, NGVAmerica Chairman Jim Arthurs said that “in 2021 alone, NRMCC has replaced over a million gallons of diesel fuel with renewable natural gas (RNG).”

Strong Commitment to the Customers and the Environment

“NRMCC has a total commitment to both its customers and to the environment as a whole -- to reducing our own carbon load and helping our customers do the same for their projects. We’re working to make concrete an even more environmentally responsible choice. The switch to renewable natural gas is a major component of our program,” Lode said. “There is no other low- or zero-emission technology available today that could enable a heavy-duty fleet like ours—running routes from Southern to Central California pulling heavy loads of cement—to offset the level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions that we’ve achieved,” Lode added.