Cement Maker Cemex Awarded $13M to Decarbonize Locomotives and Haul Trucks in Texas
Building materials firm Cemex has secured state and federal funding to incentivize its move into lower-emissions train and transport vehicles across the company’s U.S. fleet.
Mexico-based Cemex, one of the world’s largest cement producers, was awarded approximately $13 million to obtain four lower-emission locomotives and two haul trucks for its cement and aggregate sites in New Braunfels and Katy, Texas, through the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP). The TERP program provides financial incentives to eligible individuals, businesses, or local governments to reduce emissions from polluting vehicles and equipment.
"Through these state and federal programs, significant strides toward advancing responsible business practices are more attainable," said Cemex U.S. President Jaime Muguiro. "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."
Three of the four new locomotives and both haul trucks begun operations in late 2023 and mid-2024 in New Braunfels, respectively. Cemex intends to protect air quality by deploying additional equipment in 2025.
Decarbonization in the Cement Industry
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A $2 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) Program will provide two lower-emission locomotives to Cemex for Florida operations in Jacksonville and Miami in summer 2025. With these emissions-reducing vehicles, Cemex will decommission the conventional vehicles they replaced.
Cemex also is adding multiple lower-emission locomotives to its fleet for cement operations in Victorville, California.
In 2019, Cemex introduced several new locomotives developed by Knoxville Locomotive Works and equipped with MTU-4000 series engines which can reduce emissions by about 80%. Those locomotives deployed five years ago in Victorville were used to move clinker (produced in the manufacture of Portland cement).
Cemex's Future in Action program focuses on decarbonizing its operations. The program depends on achieving sustainable excellence through climate action, circularity, and natural resource management to become a net-zero CO2 company by 2050.
