Deutz opens 1st renewable diesel filling station at its factory site in Cologne, Germany

Deutz CEO Sebastian Schulte, left, and Markus Müller, chief technology officer, at the opening of the company’s own renewable diesel filling station. (Photo: Deutz AG)

Deutz has opened a filling station for hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), also known as renewable diesel, at its factory site in Cologne-Porz, Germany.

All diesel-powered vehicles of Deutz AG can now be refueled at the site with HVO.

This covers the entire Deutz fleet in Cologne, comprising company cars, forklift trucks, test vehicles, service vehicles and Deutz security vehicles.

Gensets, for example in the site’s emergency-power generators, can also run on the alternative fuel.

The switch to HVO will result in an immediate reduction of the Deutz fleet’s environmental footprint, without the need for expensive and complex retrofitting or replacements.

“This step will help to reduce our scope 1 emissions and brings us closer to our goal of becoming a climate-neutral company by 2050,” said Deutz CEO Sebastian Schulte.

“Switching our fleet to HVO also demonstrates how diesel engines can immediately help to mitigate climate change, with minimum effort and cost,” he said.

“An internal-combustion engine is only as dirty—or clean—as the fuel it runs on. That is why this technology can be much more than just a stopgap,” Schulte added.

Markus Müller, the company’s chief technology officer, added, “All Deutz engines are already approved for use with HVO. Some of our customers are already using the fuel to power their new vehicles. Now is the time for incentives that encourage emission-intensive industries such as agriculture to switch to alternative fuels like HVO. Everyone involved in off-highway applications needs to embrace new technologies—and not just new drive solutions but also alternative fuels.”

Deutz has already started this conversation with its logistics partners, as switching them to HVO would have a positive impact on the Cologne-based drive specialist’s scope 3 emissions.

Deutz will initially purchase the fuel, guaranteed as palm-oil free from Finnish company Neste, which has been developing renewable fuels since 1996.

In Germany, HVO is currently only approved and available for use in commercial vehicles.

The introduction of HVO as a so-called XTL fuel at public filling stations is expected in the coming months.