Ron Kotrba
- Feb 18, 2021
- 2 min read

Sweden’s Kranpunkten fuels hybrid lift equipment with renewable diesel

Swedish lift-equipment rental company Kranpunkten is lowering the carbon footprint of its business through continued investment in cleaner machines. Of Kranpunkten’s 3,700 individual pieces of equipment, 83 percent are currently electric-powered or diesel-electric hybrids fueled with 100 percent renewable diesel, also known as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). The company is investing in another 200-plus machines this year with all-electric or hybrid operation.

This year’s investment includes boom and scissor lifts, truck-mounted aerial working platforms and telescopic handlers. The company says these investments are part of its long-term, green strategy.

COVID-19 has had a limited impact on Kranpunkten’s rental business, according to the company, and demand for its rental equipment has remained stable.

“It is extra gratifying that we can continue according to plan despite the pandemic and maintain a strong focus on purchasing machines that create as low an environmental impact as possible,” said Rikard Jönsson, the purchasing manager at Kranpunkten. “Most of the machines are powered by electricity or are hybrids. Of those that are only available with internal combustion engines, the majority are of emission standard Euro 6 and will be refueled with the fossil-free diesel HVO100. The first deliveries are already in place and the rest will continue to arrive during the first six months of 2021.”

Part of Kranpunkten’s sustainability goals include reducing emissions from machinery and transport, phasing out use of materials that are hazardous to health and the environment, and reducing energy consumption and waste. The company’s overall ambition is to become carbon neutral.

“How fast the conversion can take place also depends on the pace at which society changes and new technology becomes available,” Jönsson said. “Our customers’ environmental and business demands on us become demands on our machine suppliers. That is why we have a close dialogue with a few carefully selected machine suppliers who share our values and together we work for more environmentally sustainable machines.”