Estes Among Fleets to Pilot Remora’s Carbon Capture System
[Find the latest in trucking technology: Explore this quarter's issue of iTECH]
As motor carriers work to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions to comply with ESG rules, some also are pursuing parallel efforts to reduce their overall carbon footprint by employing innovative new technologies that actually remove CO2 emissions at the tailpipe.
One such example is less-than-truckload carrier Estes Express Lines.
“Our president and COO, Webb Estes, is always pushing us to think outside the box,” said Sara Graf, the fleet’s vice president of sustainability, culture and communications. “Instead of just measuring, why not look for ways to reduce overall emissions? When it comes to sustainability, emissions reduction is the Holy Grail.”
Last year, Estes was among the first commercial for-hire carriers to sign up to pilot emerging technology developed by Remora, a startup company that has built a system to capture as much as 80% of a tractor’s carbon emissions directly from the tailpipe.
Q3 iTECH
►Industry Tackles Carbon Tracking
►Fleets Test Carbon Capture System
►UT Unveils Fleet Sustainability Index
►Card Skimming at Truck Stops
►Q and A: Bay & Bay's Wade Anderson
►Dysart: Using AI for Job Interviews
►Clevenger: Roads to Decarbonization
Explore the Issue!
Remora’s system takes a truck’s exhaust gases and runs them through a solvent to capture the CO2, leaving nitrogen, water vapor and some remaining CO2 as final emissions. The captured CO2 is then compressed and stored on board the truck in a tank mounted behind the cab.
When the truck returns to the terminal for refueling, the sequestered CO2 is offloaded from the tank on the truck’s cab into a large onsite tank and initially stored there. From there, Remora takes the recovered CO2 and resells it to concrete producers and other end users, then shares the revenue with its fleet customers.
Estes is putting the system into real-world practice this fall, initially installing Remora’s equipment on a daycab tractor that will operate out of the carrier’s West Middlesex, Pa., terminal, where it also is installing a large CO2 storage tank. Soon after, Remora is to install the carbon capture device on 11 more Estes tractors.
As for emissions tracking and reporting, Graf said Estes recently signed up with telematics vendor Samsara.
“We’re really excited about what Samsara will bring with transparency and visibility into emissions, allowing us to get more accurate data,” she said.
Graf
She expects to use Samsara’s tools to support a reporting system Estes is developing that will enable the company to share GHG emissions information with customers down to a shipment level basis.
Graf emphasized that sustainability and efficiency go hand in hand.
“When you look at driving sustainability, there are so many [parallel] benefits that also come from gaining efficiencies,” she noted. “All those pieces come together to make us that much more efficient, and a more sustainable company for our employees, our communities and our customers.”
Estes, based in Richmond, Va., ranks No. 14 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.
Want more news? Listen to today's daily briefing below or go here for more info:
