TITAN Freight Systems Goes Renewable and Saves
IN OUR 2020 BIENNIAL ENERGY REPORT, WE HIGHLIGHTED SOME OF THE COOL STORIES HAPPENING AROUND ENERGY IN OREGON.
One of our stories was about TITAN Freight Systems, an Oregon-based overnight transportation services company that has made the switch to 100% renewable diesel for its trucks. This story appears in our Policy Brief on Truck Efficiency.
Oregon-based TITAN Freight Systems has been providing overnight transportation services in the Pacific Northwest since 1968. With 42 trucks and 124 trailers, TITAN’s vehicles spend a lot of time (and miles) on the road throughout Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.
With about 40 percent of Oregon’s greenhouse gas emissions coming from the transportation sector, TITAN wanted to do its part. And following the passage of HB 2007 in 2019, which set a goal to reduce diesel pollution in Oregon, TITAN turned to its own history of innovation and creativity to figure out how to reduce pollution from its fleet of trucks and trailers.
TITAN was already working on improving the fleet’s miles per gallon, but even with add-ons like air deflectors, side skirts, low rolling resistant tires, and other aerodynamic improvements, the company wasn’t yet reaching its MPG targets. So TITAN began to focus on achieving emissions reductions instead of looking at MPG. Converting the fleet to electricity would certainly make a difference, but the equipment and infrastructure wasn’t quite there yet for heavy-duty electric vehicles.
In 2020, TITAN turned to 100 percent renewable diesel – a next-generation renewable fuel that creates fewer emissions. And because renewable diesel is ultimately indistinguishable from petroleum-based diesel once it’s in the pipeline or in a vehicle, the company didn’t need to make any vehicle or infrastructure modifications to begin using the fuel in its fleet.
The change has already paid off. Not only has the switch led to a 36 percent emissions reduction over the entire three-state fleet – and 67 percent in Oregon! – renewable diesel has a lower overall cost for TITAN. While the per-gallon cost of renewable diesel costs a little more than petroleum-based diesel, fleet maintenance costs are way down, with infrequent exhaust system maintenance and longer intervals between oil changes.
TITAN’s model shows how innovation can make a big difference in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and in reducing the cost for business.