Sennebogen’s Plant V in Steinach has been using HVO for over a year, saving 165 t CO2.
For over a year the SENNEBOGEN Plant V in Steinach has been consistently using the alternative fuel HVO to refuel its machines. The goal: to reduce emissions and strengthen sustainability without compromising on performance.
HVO stands for Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil and is a synthetically produced fuel. It consists primarily of vegetable and animal waste materials such as used cooking oils or waste lipids, which are converted into hydrocarbons. Chemically, the fuel is almost identical to fossil diesel, but its combustion is significantly cleaner. It also proves to be particularly sustainable. Depending on the operation and origin of the raw materials, CO2 emissions can be reduced by up to 90 per cent over the entire life cycle.
Dr Andreas Maurer, plant manager and initiator of the fuel conversion, explains: “The after-sales location in Steinach was designed to be very climate-friendly from the very beginning: our PV system covers around 75 per cent of our own electricity needs, and the buildings are heated with wood chips. This meant that reducing diesel consumption was the next biggest lever we could pull to save as much CO2 as possible.”
Since June 2024, all rental and used machines, company cars, service vehicles, and diesel forklifts at the Steinach site have been fuelled with climate-friendly HVO-100. After more than a year of transition, the results are consistently positive, as the test phase was completed without any technical or logistical difficulties. The synthetic fuel can be used in existing diesel engines without any modifications and in all weather conditions. Availability also proved to be no problem.
“Refuelling our machines with high-quality HVO costs us about four to six cents more per litre of fuel, but in return, the CO2 emissions of our machines during operation are reduced by around 2.4 kilograms per litre consumed – a contribution to a more sustainable future that we are happy to make. By using HVO-100, we save around 70,000 litres of diesel per year at our Steinach site, which also means a reduction of more than 165 tons of CO2,” said Andreas.
Since HVO can be used in all Cummins diesel engines that meet emission stage V requirements and can also be mixed with fossil fuel, almost all Sennebogen machines can be operated with this
CO2-reduced fuel.