After a successful test operation last year, Austrian Post has announced that it will convert its entire truck fleet from diesel to hydrotreated vegetable oils (HVO) in the first half of 2024. This renewable fuel can be produced from waste fats, vegetable residues and vegetable oils, and can cut up to 90% of CO2 emissions compared with fossil diesel.
With an annual consumption of around six million liters of diesel, the post office has considerable leverage to reduce emissions in heavy-duty transportation, according to Peter Umundum, board director for parcel and logistics at Österreichische Post AG. “By using HVO, we are ushering in the next phase of the yellow-green future,” he explained. “After the successful test operation, we have decided to refuel all of our 180 trucks with this renewable fuel in the first half of 2024. HVO is an important bridging technology and an enormous lever with which we can save several thousand tons of CO2 per year.”
HVO can be used in modern diesel engines without technical conversion and has already been approved for use by all truck manufacturers in the postal fleet, so it can be implemented rapidly.
Sixty postal trucks have been fueled with HVO since the beginning of the year, and there should be around 120 by the end of March. By the end of June, the entire fleet of 180 trucks should be completely converted to HVO. In the ramp-up phase in 2024, around four million liters of diesel will be replaced by HVO; in full operation it will be around six million liters of diesel per year.
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