Konecranes Lift Trucks running at renewable, fossil-free diesel

As part of ongoing efforts to reduce its climate impact and meet customer demand for equipment using renewable fuels, Konecranes has been testing the use of HVO100 fossil-free fuel in its conventional diesel lift trucks.

HVO100 is a 100% renewable and fossil-free chemical copy of regular diesel made mostly of vegetable oils combined with waste and residue fat, a recipe that can reduce fossil-based CO2 emissions by up to 90%. Almost the same as regular diesel, renewable HVO100 can be used in most (but not all) diesel engines without further modification.

“By giving them the opportunity to use HVO100 in our diesel trucks, our customers can greatly reduce the CO2 emissions coming from the trucks during use. This is another positive way we can take responsibility in reducing our environmental impact as a manufacturer of heavy vehicles,” says Zandra Wallin, Environment Health and Safety Manager, Konecranes Lift Trucks. “At the beginning of 2021, we signed up to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which means we need to actively drive measures and projects that restrict global warming to a maximum of 1.5°C. We are working hard every day to find new sustainable improvements that meet both the SBTi limit and the increasing demands of the world. “

In the fourth quarter of 2020, Konecranes started testing HVO100 in selected lift trucks at its Markaryd site in southern Sweden and found that the fuel works as efficiently as regular diesel in our new equipment, with no engine modifications needed. This means that HVO100 can be used in all Generation C lift trucks, the latest Konecranes models available on the market, representing around 40% of the company’s fleet operating globally.

“There are a few different types of HVO100, but in Markaryd we’ve only used the version without palm oil or Palm Fatty Acid Distillate (PFAD),” adds Zandra.

Nowadays, the Markaryd site is running on almost 100% renewable energy thanks to the full HVO100 implementation. The estimated reduction in tailpipe CO2 emissions from HVO100-fueled trucks both produced and used by Konecranes is expected to be over 300 tons per year – equivalent to 100 passenger cars driving 15,000 kilometres annually.