The joint venture will focus on renewable natural gas using methane collected from organic waste, according to a press release.
Cummins announced a 15-liter natural gas commercial truck engine in October, and developing renewable fuel sources for it is part of the company’s plan to work toward a carbon-neutral trucking industry, said Srikanth Padmanabhan, president of engine business at Cummins.
“In order to truly achieve a zero-emission economy, we have to help customers transition seamlessly, which requires multiple solutions including natural gas, along with advanced diesel, electrified solutions, hydrogen fuel cell and other technologies,” Padmanabhan said in the release.
Rush Enterprises, headquartered in New Braunfels, will provide aftermarket support and service at its 139 Rush Truck Center locations throughout North America. Aftermarket support will also be provided at Cummins distributor locations, making for a network of more than 250 locations in the United States and Canada to service the new engines.
“It's a complete 50-50 partnership, and really expands on the expertise of Cummins powertrain and Momentum's expertise, Rush's expertise with Momentum in in terms of the natural gas fuel systems. It's definitely a great partnership,” said Allison Teska, a spokesperson for Rush Enterprises.
Teska said the new partnership will not affect employees at the New Braunfels headquarters. Most of the workforce for Momentum Fuel Technologies is based in Roanoke, she said.
W.M. “Rusty” Rush, president and chief executive officer of Rush Enterprises, said in the statement that venture aims to get ahead of upcoming changes in the commercial transportation industry.
“Due to upcoming regulatory requirements, corporate ESG goals and the environmental and economic benefits of RNG vehicles, many customers are seeing the value in these vehicles, which we believe will drive growth for the foreseeable future,” Rush said. “With this joint venture, we are able to continue to serve CNG [compressed natural gas] and RNG [renewable natural gas] customers throughout the country with both Cummins and Rush Truck Centers' nationwide network of support locations and portfolio of aftermarket solutions.”
