Pilot test shows: Less CO2 emissions with new diesel from renewable energy sources

Today in Berlin, Daimler AG, Deutsche Post DHL, the energy group OMV, the Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG public transportation company, and the Finnish oil company Neste Oil took part in a discussion-oriented event titled "Diesel from renewable sources - A step toward zero-emission transportation?". At the event, the companies presented the initial results of their joint pilot test project focusing on fuel from sustainable production. Since mid-2008, 14 series-produced Mercedes-Benz trucks and buses that run exclusively on sustainably produced NExBTL renewable diesel have been in service under everyday conditions in Germany. The vehicles have already covered one million kilometers.

The field test shows that the combustion of the alternative diesel fuel from hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) in the engines results in significantly reduced emissions of pollutants. For example, emissions of nitrogen oxides decrease up to 15 percent. The overall CO2 balance is also positive: From the sustainable cultivation of palm oil and its processing to the fuel's use in a vehicle, the CO2 emissions of the fuel used in the pilot test have been reduced by more than 60 percent compared to fossil fuels.

The project's goal

Plans call for the joint project to run for a three-year period ending in 2011. Its objectives are to test the usability of the new diesel fuel made from renewable energy sources and to determine the level of CO2 savings that can be realized in everyday use with series-produced vehicles. The field test calls for the Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles to be driven a total of 3.3 million kilometers while realizing savings of more than 2,000 tons of CO2 emissions.

During this period, Deutsche Post DHL is operating ten Mercedes-Benz trucks in the Greater Nuremberg area. They consist of five medium-duty Mercedes-Benz Atego trucks and five heavy-duty Mercedes-Benz Actros vehicles. In addition, Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG has four Mercedes-Benz Citaro city buses on the road, which all run on NExBTL renewable diesel. Neste Oil produces the biofuel, and OMV is responsible for supplying the fuel to the project partners.

The collaboration by companies from different sectors makes it possible to integrate and study every step along the entire value chain - from biofuel production to its use in urban, intercity, and long-distance transportation. "The results from the first year of testing show that the fuel works perfectly in Mercedes-Benz trucks and buses and is tolerated very well by the engines," says Dr. Manfred Schuckert, company strategist at Daimler AG. "This is very important for our customers because the previously used biodiesel from the so-called first generation of biofuels often leads to more frequent maintenance checks, which in turn leads to higher costs for the vehicle operators."

Daimler Trucks and Daimler Buses are forging ahead with measures for significantly reducing the fuel consumption and the CO2 and pollutant emissions of their vehicles. The world's leading commercial vehicle manufacturer expresses this commitment in its "Shaping Future Transportation" initiative.

In addition to providing important findings concerning the trouble-free use of biofuel from hydrotreated vegetable oils (HVO) in commercial vehicles, the pilot project is also important in terms of achieving significant reductions of CO2 emissions from motor vehicle traffic, which immediately reduce the environmental impact.

"As a global logistics company that operates a large fleet of vehicles, we want to actively support research into biofuels from renewable sources. That's because we think that second- and third-generation biofuels can significantly reduce our carbon footprint," says Steffen Frankenberg, company strategist at Deutsche Post DHL, who also is responsible for the company's "GoGreen" climate protection program.

Transport volumes will double by the year 2020

A study conducted by Deutsche Post DHL, for instance, showed that more than 80 percent of all CO2 emissions from freight transport are generated on medium- to long-distance routes. Estimates indicate that the transport volumes on these routes will double by the year 2020. At the same time, the requirements for companies are becoming more demanding regarding climate protection. For example, the emissions standards for the automotive industry and the requirements for the use of renewable energy throughout the EU are becoming stricter.

This means, for example, that all EU member countries will have to increase their use of renewable energy in the transportation sector to ten percent by 2020. Deutsche Post DHL was the first company in its sector to set itself a concrete climate-protection target of improving CO2 efficiency by 30 percent company-wide by 2020. "In the future we will face the challenging task of having to transport more goods while generating far fewer emissions," explains Frankenberg. "We will therefore desperately need alternative fuels, especially fuels that are sustainably produced."

In addition to the logistics sector, public transport companies are taking a proactive stance when it comes to reducing CO2 and pollutant emissions. This is why Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG (SSB) is taking part in the field test. "Greater Stuttgart has been fighting high emission levels for years," says Markus Wiedemann of the SSB. The use of local public transport is a very important step in the effort to reduce emission levels. By using biofuels in our buses we can speed up the process of reducing CO2 emissions," says Wiedemann.

To ensure that the use of biofuels is technically and economically sensible as well as ecologically sound, binding standards and regulations need to be established on the European and international levels. There are, however, no internationally recognized standards for biofuels from sustainable production - standards specifying, for example, the compatibility in engines. This is very problematic for fuel producers, distributors, and automakers because they must be able to guarantee the quality of their products. Walter Böhme, Head of OMV Research and Development: "This new diesel from renewable sources allows us to provide our customers with an environmentally friendly solution that is sustainable over the long term. On the one hand, that means that high admixtures of biofuels can be used, while on the other, the fuel meets the future needs of engine and vehicle manufacturers."

OMV is playing a pioneering role in environmentally friendly technologies, and the company's entry into the production of sustainable forms of energy is the next logical step in this process. To support this development, the company has established the OMV Future Energy Fund. As a wholly owned subsidiary of OMV, the Future Energy Fund identifies renewable energy and emissions reduction projects within the OMV group, supports their implementation and provides funding for them.

In addition to solve technical challenges there is an equally important need to determine sustainably produced bio raw materials. At the Berlin event "Diesel from renewable sources - A step toward zero-emission transportation?" Martina Fleckenstein of the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) said, "We need an internationally valid certification system for the production of biofuels. The crucial factor here is that all systems, whether they are in the preparation stage or already existing, must comply with strict sustainability regulations that are ecologically, socially, and economically sound."

All of the participants agree that the current field test is an initial but promising step toward using an effective and permanently sustainable biofuel. The Finnish oil company Neste Oil has set very stringent rules for the production of raw materials in order to ensure that the NExBTL renewable diesel satisfies demanding ecological requirements. "We know exactly where our raw materials come from and how they are produced, and we also constantly have them tested by independent institutions," says Simo Honkanen, Senior Vice President Sustainability and HSSE at Neste Oil.

"Our suppliers are contractually obligated to engage in sustainable production. This is how we can guarantee our customers that the fuel is 100 percent sustainably produced. Neste Oil has also committed itself to solely using certified palm oil by the end of 2015 or even before that if sufficient volumes become available." Neste Oil is engaged in R&D with 23 research institutions and universities around the world to develope completely new type of feedstocks for renewabe fuels production. Research work is ongoing with for instance algae, other microbes and wood residues.