Roth Werke also relies on the CO2 -neutral renewable diesel HVO100 for its vehicle fleet / Small fuelling systems and containers for the climate-neutral fuel are part of the product portfolio
Travelling long distances without climate-damaging emissions? If you plan stopovers and times for recharging, you can go a long way with an electric car. Or use a newer diesel vehicle instead of an electric car. Since April of this year, HVO100 can be regularly refuelled in Germany. In order to further reduce the CO2 footprint, Roth Werke is therefore also using this renewable diesel made from hydrogenated used fats and biomass for its own vehicle fleet.
"After three fill-ups and around 3100 kilometres driven, the initial assessment is thoroughly positive," says Sascha Allissat, Head of Product Technology and Development at Roth Werke. He regularly spends a lot of time on the motorway for his management duties, so an electric vehicle - of which there are several in the Roth Werke fleet - was out of the question. "Nevertheless, I naturally want to be climate-friendly and environmentally friendly when travelling," says the qualified chemical engineer, who was just waiting for HVO100 to be approved in Germany: "Some European countries are way ahead of us in this respect." Fleet manager Thomas Burk, who looks after more than 130 Roth Group vehicles and explicitly refuels the newer models with HVO100, is also convinced: "The new fuel burns cleaner than fossil diesel and has technical advantages such as very high cold resistance and long shelf life."
Climate-friendly, emission-free and flexible
HVO100 ("Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil") is a synthetic diesel fuel. It consists of residual products such as used cooking oil or used vegetable oils. During production, the fuel undergoes a hydrogenation process in which oxygen is removed and hydrogen is added. HVO100 is 90 percent climate-neutral, produces significantly fewer particulate emissions and is practically odourless.
In principle, the fuel can be mixed with fossil diesel in any ratio. After refuelling with HVO100 and when another diesel fuel is required, neither the tank nor the entire fuel system needs to be flushed. "This means that alternate refuelling - if no HVO100 filling station is available, for example - is possible without any problems," explains Roth fleet manager Thomas Burk.
"This is of course very practical for the users of our vehicle fleet," says Christin Roth-Jäger, Managing Director of Roth Werke, "we are open to technology and rely on the best and cleanest technology for the respective application, for example short or long distances."
Roth containers are "Green Fuels Ready"
However, Roth Werke is not only focussing on regenerative fuels to reduce its CO2 footprint. Hydrogen, which is also used for the production of HVO100, plays a major role in the research and development activities of the entire Roth Group anyway: "We are working intensively on this forward-looking element from very different perspectives in the Roth companies."
Last year, the family-run company was the first manufacturer in Germany to receive "Green Fuels Ready" approval for its heating oil tanks and associated filling systems. Roth's small tank systems, which are used by farmers and others, are also "Green Fuels Ready" - and therefore also "HVO100 Ready".
"A real milestone, especially for consumers who are looking for future-proof and technology-open solutions in turbulent political times," emphasise Business Unit Manager Christian Roßbach and Product Manager Daniel Reitz, "with our tanks and containers of today, you are securely positioned for the fuel of tomorrow." After all, it is conceivable that heating systems will increasingly be operated with HVO100 or other bio-based, renewable fuels in the future. "The Building Energy Act already stipulates a mandatory increase in the proportion of renewable fuels for oil-fired heating systems installed during the transitional period until municipal heat planning," explains Christian Roßbach, and Sascha Allissat adds: "With HVO100, there is already a widely available technical solution for this, which, as a biogenic fuel, would also be exempt from CO2 pricing."
"Climate-friendly heating and refuelling? We can!"
The extent to which HVO100 will establish itself on the market is not yet foreseeable, says Christin Roth-Jäger. "As a manufacturer with a holistic approach and a full focus on sustainability, it is therefore all the more important for us to provide the appropriate systems for the respective application and the optimal, efficient technology in each case." Or, as Business Unit Manager Christian Roßbach puts it in a nutshell: "Climate-friendly and emission-free heating and refuelling? We have the product range for that."