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Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team targets 100% biofuel logistics for 2024 European season

Photo: Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1® team announced it is working with Petronas and its logistics partners to extend the use of 100 percent hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), also known as renewable diesel, as part of its ambition to achieve a fully biofueled* European season.

 

“We are committed to working towards our ambition to be net zero for our race team-controlled emissions by 2030 and are taking bold action to address our largest sources of emissions,” the team stated. “Sustainable fuels are key to reducing our impact at track and on the road.”


Working with its title and technical partner Petronas, the team plans to build on the 67 percent emissions saving achieved in the 2023 European season by extending the use of biofuels across the generators, which power its trackside hospitality and engineering units.

 

The team motorhome will be powered exclusively on HVO100 at all this year’s European races.

 

This will deliver a significant uplift on last season’s savings. 

 

The fleet of Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks will also once again refuel with HVO100 during the European season.

 

Each truck transporting the team’s motorhome and race bases covers between 9,000 to 10,000 kilometers, saving an estimated 90 percent of CO2e for every kilometer driven compared to the use of traditional diesel. 

 

Carbon-emissions savings will be published at the end of the season once the data from all nine European races have been collected and analyzed.

 

“Sustainable fuels powering our European-season logistics are a key part of our transition plans helping the team and our sport move towards a net-zero future,” said Toto Wolff, principal and CEO of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team. “We have increased our investment to deliver further efficiencies with the projected emissions reductions reflecting the combined efforts of the team, Petronas and our logistics partners. Fuel innovation sits at the heart of the changes coming to our sport in 2026 and I am proud to lead a team so committed to driving sustainable change.”

 

Alice Ashpitel, the team’s head of sustainability, added, “We aim to be as sustainable as we can in every area of our operations, looking for efficiencies in every aspect of our performance, including the ways we transport the team’s freight and how we power our operations on track. With the ambition of a fully biofueled season in line with our net-zero commitments, we continue to use data to drive our learning, which has enabled us to increase our savings year on year and modify our operations as we learn more about supply and infrastructure variations across the continent and multiple geographies in play.”

 

Datuk Sazali Hamzah, executive vice president and CEO of Petronas’ downstream operations, said, “In addition to working on delivering sustainable fuel for the Formula 1® cars by 2026, we continue to progress in our efforts to reduce the carbon footprint within other parts of the motorsport ecosystem, including travel and logistics. Though these segments of the industry may not be visible to the fans, they demand concerted efforts in reducing emissions. Building on last year’s achievements, we are now expanding the use of HVO100, which represents one of the most feasible solutions and many collaborative efforts to come in powering motorsport closer towards net zero while showcasing the potential of biofuels to the world’s transportation sector.”

 

Beyond work to lessen the impact of its road-based freight logistics, the team has also led investment into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

 

In 2022, it was the first team to invest in SAF, helping to increase its emissions savings related to the air travel of race-team personnel.

 

“Like all industries, we have much to learn,” the team stated. “But as pioneers on the racetrack, we can now apply approaches that have driven performance on the track, such as data-driven learning and continuous feedback loops, to help us improve our own environmental footprint and to share best practice, supporting and inspiring others to adopt similar practices.”

 

In September 2022, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team concluded a trial in the use of HVO100 in 16 of its race trucks for the final three European races.

 

The trial was designed to understand the level of carbon saving achievable, as well as identifying sourcing challenges.

 

Analysis conducted after the trial concluded the use of HVO100 reduced the freight emissions of the trucks by 89 percent.


In 2023, it built on the success of its 2022 biofuels trial, significantly increasing HVO100 usage across the European season.

 

The team achieved an emissions reduction of 67 percent and a saving of 339 tons of CO2e for race and hospitality trucks and generators across the 2023 European season.

 

The team’s fleet of trucks traveled 386,000 kilometers on HVO100 with every kilometer traveled saving 90 percent of CO2 emissions versus traditional diesel. 

 

*Ambition for a fully biofueled European season covers the use of biofuel in race and marketing trucks, generators for the team’s motorhome and paddock equipment, fuel transport and ad-hoc logistics for car parts.

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