John Deere is launching its “Field-to-Freight” initiative at its Milan, Ill., parts distribution center (PDC). Five Class 8 freight trucks converted to run on 100% biodiesel (B100) using the Optimus Technologies Vector system are deployed to run on regular Midwest routes carrying Deere parts and products.
John Deere chose these specific routes using operational “heat maps” to get the most impact out of the pilot, pinpointing the longest daily regional runs.
“We picked five of these trucks that actually run some of the longest routes and that also run a defined route,” says Nate Green, director of biofuels at John Deere.
One of the company’s biggest hurdles was the lack of commercial truck stops and travel plaza pumps. To address the shortfall, John Deere installed its own bulk B100 fuel tank and pump at the Milan PDC.
“One of the challenges with B100 is there’s not readily available supply and infrastructure,” Green explains. “We installed a biodiesel B100 tank at our PDC location so that those trucks when they go out, do their route, they can come back and fill up night before or morning before they head back out the next day.”
The fuel powering the trucks is a full-circle story in agriculture. Supplied by Chevron’s Seneca, Ill., processing facility, the B100 is refined from Midwest soybean oil alongside distillers corn oil, a valuable co-product of corn ethanol production.
If the trucks were on the road for a full year, they would travel 700,000 miles, consuming 85,000 gallons of B100 — the equivalent of 60,000 bu. of soybeans. Proving that B100 can reliably handle the demand is crucial for both sustainability and future ag policy.
“As we look to one of our other pillars, which is advocating for supportive policy for renewable fuels, the more use cases that, not just Deere, but others can demonstrate there’s demand for renewable fuels, it’s going to allow policymakers and regulators as they’re considering increasing volumes to take that next step,” Green says.
The trial is scheduled for six months, but if all goes well, Green says the company intends to keep the trucks in service and potentially expand the program.
