Tourmaline, Clean Energy open 2 new natural gas fuelling stations in Alberta

Two new compressed natural gas (CNG) fuelling stations have opened in Alberta to help heavy-haul trucks get off diesel and reduce their environmental footprint.

The new stations in Calgary and Grande Prairie join an Edmonton station that opened last year and together form the start of what is intended to be Western Canada's first commercial-grade public CNG fuelling network.

The network is being built by Tourmaline Oil Corp., Canada's largest natural gas producer, and California-based Clean Energy Fuels Corp., who signed a $70 million joint agreement last year to build up to 20 CNG fuelling stations across Western Canada.

Once complete, the 20-station network could fuel up to 3,000 natural gas-powered trucks daily.

"We've seen tremendous interest from (trucking) fleets here in Calgary and in the area, and I think the reception's going to be very good," Clean Energy Fuels CEO Andrew Littlefair told reporters at a grand opening event for one of the stations Tuesday.

"Companies want to do the right thing, right? They want to do the right thing for the environment, but it has to make economic sense. It has to make business sense. And I think that's what we have with CNG here."

The vast majority of transport trucks in North America still run on diesel, meaning the industry has an emissions problem. In Canada alone, freight trucks represent 37 per cent of Canada's transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions, according to a 2021 report by the Pembina Institute.

While still a fossil fuel, natural gas is more environmentally friendly than diesel, with a 20 per cent lower CO2 emissions profile, Littlefair previously said. Converting one semi-truck to CNG from diesel is the equivalent of taking up to five passenger vehicles off the road.

CNG also produces fewer nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and particulate matter compared with traditional diesel-powered vehicles.

There are other options that the long-haul trucking sector is looking at to reduce its greenhouse gas footprint. Clean Energy, which has a network of more than 600 fuelling stations in the U.S., is that country's largest provider of renewable natural gas, or RNG.

RNG is not a fossil fuel — it's made from organic waste. Switching from diesel to RNG drastically reduces carbon emissions by an average of 300 per cent, said Littlefair.

But Canada has been much slower than the U.S. when it comes to building out an RNG industry and related infrastructure. Littlefair said that's why in this country it makes sense for the transportation sector to look to natural gas as a "bridging" solution until cleaner options are available.

"It's not going to be one-size-fits-all technology — there will be places where electricity might make sense, where hydrogen might someday make sense," he said.

"But we know that natural gas will work today. We know it's going to take all of the above to be able to reduce our carbon footprint worldwide."

Tourmaline CEO Mike Rose said CNG makes sense for Western Canada in particular, because natural gas in this region is abundant, easily distributed and affordable.

In just over a year, Rose said, the existing fuelling station in Edmonton has grown to count nine heavy-haul trucking companies among its customers.

Cummins, one of the world's leading engine manufacturers, recently introduced its X15N natural gas engine into the Canadian and U.S. heavy-duty truck market, a development that is expected to drive further adoption of CNG. Companies such as Walmart, UPS and FedEx have already been testing those engines within their own fleets.

"This will rapidly involve into a material new segment," Rose said.

"The new engine technology is here that we need ... and we're going to scale it up."

One of North America's largest logistics companies, Mullen Group Ltd., already has 19 fully operational CNG trucks, with plans to deploy another 15 as soon as they become available.

CEO Murray Mullen said that while natural gas-powered engines are about 30 per cent more expensive than a traditional diesel engine, the CNG itself is cheaper than retail diesel fuel.

He added the natural gas-powered trucks Mullen Group already has in its fleet have been performing "exceptionally well."

"Compressed natural gas is viable, it's competitive, and it's good for the environment," Mullen said.

"Are all of our trucks on it yet? No ... But we think we're in the early stages of this."

Tourmaline and Clean Energy Fuels plan to have a total of seven CNG fuelling stations by the end of 2025. Stations are already being planned for Kamloops, Fort St. John and Chilliwack, B.C., as well as Fort McMurray, Alta.