Trucking

Planning the journey to lower emission commercial diesel fleets

On the road to lower GHG emissions

Road transportation is essential. Whether moving people or goods, it supports society and economic growth.

Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from commercial fleets is a significant challenge. Commercial transportation is complex, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. 

For fleet managers and the transportation industry, our white paper, Moving forward: planning the journey to lower emission commercial diesel fleets, provides key insights to efficiently and effectively transition to lower-emission fuels.

Learn more about ExxonMobil’s approach to reducing road transportation GHG emissions

Optimizing fleet productivity and efficiency

Optimizing the existing diesel fleet’s productivity and efficiency represents an important opportunity to reduce costs and emissions per ton mile.1

Additized diesel is one fuel solution that can help fleets meet this opportunity. Deposits build up in injection systems using unadditized diesel, impacting fuel efficiency and engine out emissions (including NOx & particulates) over time. The right detergent-based technology can help clean up these deposits.

ExxonMobil’s Diesel Efficient™ fuel marketed under Esso, Mobil and Exxon brands, and available in many markets globally, incorporates a terminal-additized detergent aimed at improving one or more aspects of fuel performance, such as improved fuel.2

Energy on the move

Global transportation energy demand is expected to increase by 30% from 2021 to 2050 due to global economic growth.2

Road transportation emissions

Nearly 25% of worldwide CO2 emissions are estimated to come from transportation, with almost 75% of those emissions coming from road transportation.3

Demand growth

Road freight is predicted to grow from 19 trilllion tonne-kilometres in 2015 to more than 38 trillion by 2050.4

Biggest challenge

Two-thirds of fleet managers say that reducing emissions is their biggest challenge, and 53% highlight the need for solutions to meet sustainability goals.5

Delivering lower-emission fuels

We blend 5-7% biodiesel (also known as FAME) in many markets. Biodiesel itself offers the potential to reduce fleet GHG emissions on a lifecycle basis compared to conventional diesel.6 Renewable diesel, also known as HVO, is also emerging as an alternative. It is chemically similar to conventional diesel, making it a low capital, drop-in option for many modern fleets, with significant potential for lifecycle GHG emission reductions. 7

Innovate, invest and reinvest

Imperial Oil, an ExxonMobil majority-owned affiliate, is building a world-class renewable diesel facility at its Strathcona refinery in Alberta.8

This cutting-edge facility will use locally sourced bio-feedstock to produce renewable diesel, a lower-GHG emission fuel, with an expected capacity target of 1 billion letters of renewable diesel annually.9

Strathcona: The road to renewable fuel

Renewable fuel production is ramping up at the Strathcona refinery. With hundreds of employees and contractors, and the capacity to fill 500,000 vehicles per day, this facility could deliver more than 6 million barrels of renewable diesel per year.

Learn more

Lower-emission fuels

Lower-emission fuels (LEFs) made from renewable sources - like vegetable oils and agricultural waste - can reduce emissions from trucks and other forms of commercial transportation.

FOOTNOTES:

1Benefits apply to Exxon, Mobil, or Esso Diesel Efficient™ branded fuel compared to diesel fuel without detergent additive with the same level of renewable content. Actual benefits will vary depending on factors such as vehicle/engine type, driving style, diesel fuel previously used, and other factors. Concentration and availability of our proprietary additive package may vary based upon factors beyond our control. Product offerings and availability vary by region.

2ExxonMobil Global Outlook Our View to 2050 (2023). Energy demand trends | ExxonMobil

3IEA CO2 Emissions in 2022 Report, IEA Tracking Transport Tracking 2023.

4Road freight activity forecast 2050 | Statista

5ExxonMobil commissioned research by Frost & Sullivan of 157 fleets with 50+ heavy-duty trucks across UK, Germany, Benelux, France, Norway and Italy – 4Q23-1Q24.

6For instance B5 is common in North America and B7 in the EAME region. Fleets should check with the engine manufacturer before using biodiesel. The exact GHG emissions reduction potential of biodiesel/conventional diesel blends depends on several factors, including the FAME feedstock, production method, and blend percentage. Models recognized by policymakers vary by jurisdiction, but, for illustration, under the European Renewable Energy Directive, on a well to wheels basis, rapeseed-based FAME typically is estimated to have approximately half the carbon intensity of conventional diesel. This depends on the feedstock. For example, FAME from used cooking oil can have an estimated carbon intensity reduction, well to wheels, of greater than 80%. See Renewable Energy Directive 2018/2001/EU Annex V.

7Fleets should check with the engine manufacturer before using renewable diesel. Lifecycle GHG emission calculations and estimates vary between models and across jurisdictions but, by way of illustration, EU’s RED II (Renewable Energy Directive II) assign to renewable diesel from used cooking oil a default carbon intensity reduction vs conventional diesel of 83% and a typical reduction of 87%.

8Low Carbon Solutions | ExxonMobil.

9ExxonMobil 2023 - The-road-to-renewable-fuel.