LONDON – From January 2023 onwards, all diesel-powered ground handling vehicles and machinery at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands will be using Neste MY Renewable Diesel (also known as “HVO100” thanks to being produced from 100% renewable raw materials).
Range of airport support vehicles
There are around 1,900 ground handling vehicles with a diesel engine at Schiphol Airport, varying from standard cars, vans, pushback tractors and trucks.
The vehicle fleet also includes specialized ground support like conveyor belt loaders, pallet or container loaders, catering highlifts, aircraft fuel dispensers, passenger steps and ground power units.
KLM Equipment Services (KES) is the fuel supplier for all vehicles and machinery on Schiphol with a fuel station at the airport as well as three fuel trucks operating seven days a week. Neste MY Renewable Diesel is supplied to KES via Neste’s distribution partner EG Group.
“At the moment, 40% of the motorized equipment at the airport runs on electricity. And that number will increase over the coming years, says Paul Feldbrugge, responsible for the Zero Emission Programme within KES.
“However, for a number of specialist heavy vehicles, it is a technical challenge to develop a battery with sufficient capacity that can also be charged quickly enough. Using Neste MY Renewable Diesel is therefore a good solution currently.”
“KLM Equipment Services is an existing customer of EG Group in the field of lubricants. Now this cooperation is further expanded with Neste MY Renewable Diesel, says Rob Wemekamp, B2B Sales Manager, EG Group.
“We are very pleased with KES’s choice to use Neste-produced renewable diesel as a solution at the airport ground and that EG Group can contribute to making this happen.”
“This is a significant step on the way towards a zero-emission ground operation in 2030. The vehicles for which there are currently no electric or hydrogen alternatives available can run on renewable diesel.”
“Everyone on airside, where the loads are moved to or from the aircraft, is making use of it, including Aviapartner, dnata, Menzies, Swissport, KLM Ground Services and Viggo. We’re pleased about that.”
“It’s also important that we all continue to expand the number of electric vehicles at Schiphol. We are also going to considerably expand the number of charging stations,” says Denise Pronk, responsible for sustainability at Royal Schiphol Group, operating the Schiphol airport.
About Neste SAF
Neste MY Renewable Diesel™ is produced from 100% renewable raw materials. It is a drop-in fuel, the use of which does not require any modifications to existing vehicles or machines, energy systems or fuel distribution infrastructures.
Schiphol is one of the airports in Europe in which Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™, a more sustainable alternative to fossil jet fuel, is available.
The use of Neste-produced SAF reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% (when used in neat, unblended form) over the fuel’s life cycle, compared to using fossil jet fuel.
