Cemex announced its participation in multiple government-sponsored sustainability initiatives and secured funding from state and federal programs to deploy several lower-emission vehicles across its U.S. footprint. This investment is crucial in the company’s ongoing efforts to decarbonize its operations.
With the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP), Cemex was awarded about $13 million to obtain four lower-emission locomotives and two haul trucks for its cement and aggregate sites in New Braunfels and Katy, Texas. And the TERP program provides financial incentives to eligible individuals, businesses, or local governments to reduce emissions from polluting vehicles and equipment. Three of the four new locomotives and both haul trucks entered service in late 2023 and mid-2024 in New Braunfels, respectively.
Cemex will continue a commitment to protecting air quality by deploying additional equipment this year. A $2 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) Program will allow two lower-emission locomotives to enter Cemex’s service in Jacksonville and Miami in the summer of 2025.
Upon placing these emissions-reducing vehicles into service, Cemex decommission the replaced conventional vehicles, meeting a core requirement of the programs and reinforcing Cemex’s commitment to a more sustainable future. This initiative continues Cemex’s efforts at other locations, especially in Victorville, California, where multiple lower-emission locomotives were added to the fleet.
In 2022, nearly 40 low-emission natural gas trucks were introduced to the Southern California fleet, replacing an equal number of older and diesel-powered vehicles. And in 2023, another lower-emission locomotive was put into service, supported by a $2.5 million grant from the EPA’s Targeted Airshed Grants (TAG) Program.
KEY QUOTES:
“Through these state and federal programs, significant strides toward advancing responsible business practices are more attainable. Our new lower-emission vehicles play a key role in the development of building materials for roads, schools, hospitals, and more, while also pivotal to our CO2 reduction roadmap.”
– Cemex U.S. President Jaime Muguiro
