January 20, 2024. With millions of internal combustion engine cars and trucks on U.S. roads, lowering emissions from transportation is a big job. And it’s going to take a variety of solutions to get it done.
“From a technology perspective, there is a lot of opportunity in this space,” noted Chris Jablonski, Chevron’s Vice President of Downstream Technology and Services. Speaking at the Reuters NEXT leadership summit in New York, Jablonski said battery-electric vehicles have a place but so do options like hydrogen, compressed natural gas and renewable fuels.
In 2021, the transportation sector represented more than one quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Approximately 80% of those transportation-sector emissions are from vehicles on the road. While efforts to build up lower carbon technologies are underway—think electric vehicles and hydrogen networks—alternative fuels such as renewable gas blends and biodiesel can help decrease the lifecycle carbon intensity of vehicles currently on the road.
“If we can continue to develop technology that reduces the carbon intensity of these lower carbon liquid fuels, we have an opportunity to tap into the existing infrastructure. That will inherently be more affordable and reliable,” said Jablonski.
Collaborating with industry partners, policymakers and others can help build the portfolio of fuel options that will contribute to lowering carbon intensity and give customers options.
For instance, Chevron teamed up with Toyota to raise awareness about renewable gasoline blends, a drop-in fuel that works with existing internal combustion engines and infrastructure.
Chevron is also working with Cummins to research, develop and deploy lower carbon intensity fuels such as:
- Hydrogen
- Compressed natural gas
- Renewable natural gas
- Biodiesel
- Renewable diesel
- Sustainable aviation fuel
“I see a lot of potential through technology and innovation, industry collaboration and policy evolution to get us on a better track to realize our lower carbon ambitions,” said Jablonski.