Since August 2024, the Liebherr factory in Nenzing, Austria, has switched to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuel for the machines it produces.
The big advantage in using this instead of fossil diesel is that it is largely carbon dioxide (CO2) neutral. The company is thus making an important contribution to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. The HVO fuel is now also being used in the factory’s supply chain.
HVO is a synthetically produced fuel that is mainly obtained from vegetable and animal oil, and fat waste from the food industry. These are converted into hydrocarbons with the addition of hydrogen.
Liebherr is using HVO fuel from Neste, an oil refining and marketing company located in Espoo, Finland, which produces one of the highest quality fuels on the market and is free from palm oil.
Compared to conventional diesel and other fossil fuels, HVO produces up to 90 per cent less CO2 emissions during combustion. Liebherr estimates that using HVO in machines at Nenzing can save 300,000 litres of diesel per year and reduce CO2 emissions by 810 tonnes. This corresponds to a 20 per cent reduction in direct CO2 emissions at the site.
As HVO can be mixed with fossil diesel in any ratio and used with conventional combustion engines, most Liebherr machines in the global fleet can be operated immediately and effectively with HVO. The higher the proportion of HVO in the fuel mixture, the higher are the CO2 savings.
HVO in logistics
Since the beginning of August 2024, a well-known Vorarlberg transport company has also been carrying out transport operations for Liebherr-Werk Nenzing GmbH using HVO-powered vehicles. Thanks to this collaboration, the site is significantly reducing its CO2 footprint and improving environmental standards in the supply chain. This conversion can save 23 per cent of transport emissions and 3,500 tonnes of CO2.
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