Shell has released details of its latest Sharship run, showcasing opportunities to increase efficiency and reduce emissions in commercial road transport.

Starship 3.0 trials were held on the U.S. West Coast, powered by a Cummins X15N natural gas engine fueled by renewable natural gas. It pulled a fully loaded trailer on a 840-mile (1,350-km) loop through California while engineers measured freight ton efficiency using ton-miles of goods transported per kilogram of CO2 emitted.

The results were monitored by the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE).

Shell says the results achieved 2.54 times greater freight ton efficiency compared to the U.S. average.

“Shell Starship 3.0 demonstrates the power of innovation by incorporating a new natural gas engine complemented by today’s available technologies to help reduce emissions in the road transport industry,” said Dr. Selda Gunsel, president of Shell Global Solutions and vice-president of fuels and lubricants technology. “Industry collaboration is critical in helping fleets achieve their sustainability goals.”

In addition to the natural gas engine, the tractor-trailer took advantage of lightweighting, aerodynamics, and low rolling resistance tires. It ran on low-viscosity Shell Rotella natural gas engine oil and Shell Spirax transmission and axle oils.

“Each Starship generation shows our current and future customers that we are leading the effort to empower fleets with real-world data that will help guide their decisions to help reduce emissions,” said Tom Mueller, general manager of Shell Commercial Road Transport Lubricants. “Shell Starship is a proving ground of how working together across the industry can lead the way to more sustainable solutions.”

Shell’s Starship program began in 2018 to showcase how innovation and collaboration throughout the industry can improve efficiency and reduce emissions. Partners for the third version included Cummins and Bridgestone.