With the auto industry shifting to electrification, the primary goal is to cut CO2 emissions. That includes every possible way that this can be achieved, including logistics.
BMW wants to lead the way in sustainable transport logistics by using delivery trucks fueled by cooking oil. The German automaker has partnered with logistics providers Guggemos (GV Trucknet) and DB Schenker to operate a fleet of 10 trucks running on HVO100 diesel, a renewable fuel made from waste products, residues, and renewable raw materials, including used cooking oil.
HVO100 produces up to 90 percent less CO2 than fossil diesel, and the trucks are expected to emit up to over 800 tons less CO2 per year than they would with conventional diesel.
The HVO100 pilot project is part of the BMW Group’s Green Transport Logistics Strategy and its transformation into a BMW iFactory with a "lean, green, digital" approach. The use of HVO100 in logistics is a valuable component of the company’s sustainability goals, and it represents another sustainable technology that BMW is exploring to reduce its carbon footprint.
One of the major advantages of HVO100 is that it requires no modifications to vehicles or engines to run on eco-friendly fuel. HVO can be used pure or mixed with fossil fuel in any ratio, and it can be supplied via the existing fuel station infrastructure. BMW’s partner on the project is the Finnish company Neste, whose HVO diesel is based on their patented NEXBTL technology and produced purely from renewable raw materials.
BMW is evaluating aspects such as fuel consumption with different loads, at different speeds, in a variety of weather conditions, and over shorter and longer distances to determine which drive technologies and fuels work best in which contexts. Michael Nikolaides, Head of BMW Group Production Network and Logistics, believes that every gram of CO2 saved helps.
"We continue to reduce the carbon footprint from our transport and supply chains through a variety of measures," Nikolaides added.
