The 15-Litre Engine Opens Heavy-Duty Trucking to RNG—Economics Decide What Scales Artwork

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Climate Confident - Practical Climate Solutions That Cut Emissions

The 15-Litre Engine Opens Heavy-Duty Trucking to RNG—Economics Decide What Scales

September 30, 2026 • Tom Raftery • Season 1 • Episode 296

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For years, renewable natural gas had a basic problem in heavy-duty trucking: it lacked a 15-litre engine capable of doing the work fleets expect from diesel. That barrier is disappearing. The harder question now is whether the economics and infrastructure stack up.

My guest is Scott Brinner, Executive Vice President of RNG Solutions at NoPetro Energy, who works across RNG production, fuelling and fleet deployment. We look at the real decision facing operators: can fuel savings overcome a $70,000–$90,000 truck premium without creating new operational risk?

We examine why high-mileage, return-to-base fleets may be the strongest early fit, what fuelling and maintenance infrastructure can quietly derail adoption, and why the climate case depends on feedstock, methane leakage and lifecycle accounting—not the label on the pump. We also test where RNG belongs alongside battery-electric trucking rather than treating every route as the same problem.

Listen now to understand where renewable natural gas can genuinely work in heavy-duty trucking—and what fleets need to prove before scaling it.

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