The initiative is part of the building materials company’s Future in Action programme to become a net-zero CO2 company by 2050.
The investment in the new vehicles consist mostly of concrete mixer trucks powered by low emission compressed natural gas (CNG) or renewable natural gas (RNG). The trucks will have a carbon footprint that is approximately 25% lower than the diesel trucks they are replacing. Over half of the vehicles are in Mexico, with the remaining half split between Southern California in the US and Colombia.
“Decarbonising our global fleet requires a multi-pronged approach built on innovation,” said Juan Romero, CEMEX executive vice president of sustainability, commercial and operations development.
“Our strategy combines taking immediate action to reduce our carbon footprint with currently available state-of-the-art technology, while at the same time collaborating with our partners to discover, pilot, and scale the solutions needed to achieve net-zero.”
Overall, CEMEX has a 2030 Scope 3 goal to reduce transport carbon emissions by 20% and says it is committed to reaching overall net-zero emissions by 2050. Scope 3 emissions are indirect emissions, including those from upstream and downstream transportation and distribution.
It adds that natural gas-powered trucks are a transitional technology that will permit an immediate reduction of carbon emissions. Natural gas, biodiesel and hybrid power are the most readily available lower-carbon transition technologies.
CEMEX is a founding member of the First Movers Coalition, which brings together business leaders with global footprints to create market demand for zero carbon solutions in this decade and jump-start the scaling of these emerging technologies. The company committed to making approximately 30% of its heavy-duty transport purchases zero-emissions by 2030. To that end, CEMEX has completed a multi-country pilot using fully electric ready-mix concrete trucks.
Fully electric heavy-duty trucks are not yet available at scale, but CEMEX says it is collaborating with several original equipment manufacturers on new transportation technology that will enable a net-zero emissions future.
