Cemex passes 1,000 lower-carbon truck milestone

Cemex unveiled this prototype of a fully electric mixer truck in Dubai at COP28, but the company currently relies heavily on lower-carbon fuels such as renewable diesel and natural gas to cut its carbon footprint. (Photo: Business Wire)

The global construction-materials company Cemex announced Dec. 4 that it now has over 1,000 heavy-duty trucks powered with lower-carbon fuels as part of a comprehensive transition strategy seeking to decarbonize its global fleet.

This initiative is part of the company’s flagship Future in Action program to become a net-zero CO2 company by 2050.

Cemex said it has made significant investments over the past two years in heavy-duty trucks powered by renewable diesel and natural gas.

These efforts have resulted in a reduction of approximately 5 percent in CO2 emissions from its owned fleet.

This aligns with Cemex’s commitment to reduce third-party transport emissions by 30 percent by 2030, compared to the 2020 baseline.

“Our net-zero transition is supported by proven and readily available lower-carbon technologies that guarantee that we meet our short- and medium-term decarbonization commitments,” said Fernando A. González, CEO of Cemex. “At the same time, we remain at the forefront of innovation and emerging transportation technologies so we can achieve our ultimate goal of becoming a net-zero CO2 company by 2050.”

Earlier in 2023, Cemex announced that Volvo Trucks had supplied it with the world’s first fully electric and zero-emission heavy concrete mixer truck.

Additionally, the company has completed several multicountry pilots using full electric ready-mix concrete trucks.

Most recently, at COP28 in Dubai, Cemex unveiled a prototype of a fully electric mixer truck and expects to gradually continue introducing and testing new technologies.

Cemex is implementing a multipronged approach to reduce transport CO2 emissions, combining immediate action to accelerate the use of readily available lower-carbon fuels while actively collaborating with partners to discover, pilot, learn and scale the long-term solutions needed to achieve net zero, including hybrid and zero-emission vehicles.

Renewable diesel and natural gas have a carbon footprint that is approximately 70 percent and 25 percent lower than regular diesel, respectively.

“These are critical transitional technologies that will enable a reduction in carbon emissions in the short term as heavy-duty electric vehicles become viable at an industrial scale,” the company stated.

While fully electric heavy-duty trucks are not yet widely available on an industrial scale, Cemex said it is actively collaborating with multiple original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to advance net-zero transportation technologies.

The company expects to gradually continue introducing and testing new prototypes for zero-emission ready-mix concrete trucks to its fleet.

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 jumpstart the scaling of these emerging technologies.

FMC members have committed to having 30 percent of their heavy-duty on-highway transport purchases be zero emissions by 2030.