Five Class Is joined clean fuels alliance in 2024 for help with decarbonization targets
1/14/2025
By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
The Class Is continue to work on their sustainability programs to reach ambitious greenhouse-gas (GHG) reduction goals over the next five years and beyond. And a crucial part of those programs involves expanding the use of alternative fuels, which produce far fewer GHGs than fossil fuels such as diesel.
To foster more collaboration for their alternative-fuel strategies as well as forge valuable information-sharing partnerships, five Class Is joined Clean Fuels Alliance America last year: Union Pacific Railroad (in May); Canadian Pacific Kansas City (in June); Norfolk Southern Railway (in November); BNSF Railway Co. (in December); and CN (in December).
Clean Fuels Alliance America is a national trade association representing the biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel industries. Based in Jefferson City, Missouri, the organization offers education, communication, governmental affairs, and technical and quality assurance programs, and serves as a coordinating body for research and development efforts in the United States.
The alliance’s more than 100 members include state, national and international feedstock and feedstock processor organizations, and fuel suppliers, marketers, distributors, users and technology providers.
CPKC is testing biofuels in 10 AC4400 locomotives operating near Golden, British Columbia. The fuel partly contains plant materials. CPKCClean Fuels Alliance America strives to increase the use of biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel as mainstream low-carbon fuel options. The organization’s goal is to boost clean fuel usage to more than 6 billion gallons by 2030 in on- and off-road, air transportation, electricity generation and home heating applications, including rail. If alternative-fuel feedstocks expand, usage could reach 15 billion gallons by 2050, alliance officials believe.
CN joined Clean Fuels Alliance America last month because an increased use of cleaner fuels is a “key strategic enabler” for decarbonizing supply chains, CN officials said in a LinkedIn post.
“For this reason, an ecosystem of collaboration between fuel producers, locomotive manufacturers and governments is an important area of focus for CN,” they said.
CN continues to test renewable fuels in locomotive operations through a partnership with Progress Rail and Chevron Renewable Energy Group. The fuels typically are produced from such renewable resources as vegetable oil, hydrogen or carbon dioxide and water.
CN is conducting trials and qualifications of up to 100% renewable fuels as an additional step toward further reducing GHG emissions and meeting aggressive science-based emission targets by 2030. The Class I also strives to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Meanwhile, CPKC decided to become an alliance member in mid-2024 after participating in Clean Fuels Alliance America’s workshops and conferences.
Overall, UP has set a Science-Based Target Initiative decarbonization goal to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 50.4% between 2018 and 2030. Union Pacific Railroad“[We] found value in the collaboration between members,” said CPKC spokesperson Terry Cunha in an email. “We’ve been testing biofuels in our locomotives since 2023.”
The railroad’s biofuels pilot involves 10 AC4400 locomotives operating near Golden, British Columbia, that consume fuel partly containing plant materials.
In addition, CPKC since 2020 has been working to design and build North America’s first line-haul hydrogen-powered locomotive featuring fuel cells and batteries. The locomotive would emit only water vapor instead of GHGs.
CPKC also helps transport renewable fuel feedstocks throughout its network, including vegetable oils, used cooking oil, tallow and wood pellets. The Class I has access to over 10 million tons of canola crush capacity across western Canada, as well as canola and soybean crush plants in eastern Canada, the United States and Mexico.
The railroad also has direct access to oil vessel-loading terminals in Vancouver, British Columbia, and interchange points with other Class Is that support the transportation of alternative fuel feedstocks to key destination markets.
UP can access and serve many alternative fuel suppliers in its network, too, including 60 ethanol/corn oil, 40 animal-protein origination and 24 soybean crush oil facilities. The Class I accesses 90% of soybean oil production west of the Mississippi River and accesses about 2 billion pounds of corn oil — more than any other railroad, according to UP.
In 2023, UP and CN tested renewable fuel blends on two stationary locomotives at MxV Rail’s facility in Pueblo, Colorado. The locomotives ran 24-7 without moving. Union Pacific RailroadIts renewable fuels franchise will provide market access to nearly 6 billion gallons in 2025 compared with 4.8 billion gallons in 2024 and 3.5 billion gallons in 2023, said Chris Kankousky, UP’s general director of bulk marketing and sales, during a renewable fuels webinar the Class I conducted in October 2024 with Clean Fuels Alliance America. The Class I’s renewable fuel shipments have climbed 44% since 2018, he said.
But what’s more paramount to UP’s GHG-reduction goal is increasing the railroad’s use of renewable fuels. From 2018 through 2023, the Class I boosted its daily usage of biofuels from 1% to 6% of total fuel consumption, said Mark Lutz, Lutz, UP’s general director of fuel and environmental operations, during the webinar. The current goals are to increase that percentage to 10% in 2025 and to 20% in 2030, he added.
“Biofuels are a drop-in technology we can use to decarbonize our operations,” said Lutz.
UP continues to test biofuels. The railroad is analyzing various blends on trains operating in Los Angeles and northern California, and is partnering with CN to test biofuel blends at MxV Rail’s facility in Pueblo, Colorado.
Testing accomplished so far has resulted in tentative approvals from Progress Rail and Wabtec Corp. on fuel blends containing up to 50% renewable diesel and 11% biodiesel, said Lutz.
“Testing will continue through the first quarter of 2025 to achieve approval of fuel blends containing up to 100% renewable diesel and 20% biodiesel,” he said.
When UP joined the alliance in May 2024 — becoming the organization’s first Class I member — the railroad’s leaders at the time said the move would help amplify UP’s advocacy for mode-neutral programs that promote fair market access to biofuels and renewable fuels.
The Class I’s overall Science-Based Target Initiative decarbonization goal is to reduce GHGs by 50.4% between 2018 and 2030. So far, UP has reached about 19 points of that 50-plus-point mark, said Lutz.
Part of the railroad’s long-term GHG-reduction strategy calls for exploring/adopting hybrid locomotives or zero-emission, battery-electric locomotives. Emissions from locomotives account for 95% of all GHGs produced by UP, said Lutz.
