Germany’s Cologne Bonn Airport switches entire diesel-powered ground fleet to renewable diesel

A firefighting vehicle at Cologne Bonn Airport (Photo: Cologne Bonn Airport)

Cologne Bonn Airport has switched to Neste MY Renewable Diesel™ in its diesel-powered ground fleet, Neste announced Aug. 30.

Neste's renewable diesel, also known as HVO100, which stands for 100 percent hydrotreated vegetable oil, is made from 100 percent renewable raw materials.

In particular, the fuel is used for powering large and heavy vehicles, such as the airport’s fire trucks, which are not easy to electrify.

In total, switching to Neste MY Renewable Diesel will allow the airport to save almost 3,000 metric tons of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions (CO2e) annually compared to the use of fossil diesel.

By using Neste MY Renewable Diesel, GHG are reduced by as much as 90 percent over the lifecycle of the fuel compared to fossil diesel.

“The use of renewable fuel is another important building block and a very important addition to our concept for climate-friendly mobility,” said Thilo Schmid, CEO of Cologne Bonn Airport GmbH. “For some vehicles, diesel propulsion is still the necessary standard, such as for the very large and heavy vehicles used by the airport’s fire department. For these, Neste MY Renewable Diesel is a solution enabling immediate decarbonization.”

Cologne Bonn Airport was one of the first German airports to offer Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ to airlines in 2021 enabling it to reduce carbon emissions from departing flights.

It is now the only airport in Germany where SAF from Neste is available for airlines, while at the same time the airport uses Neste MY Renewable Diesel for its own diesel-powered ground fleet.

“We are very pleased with Cologne Bonn Airport’s decision to now also use Neste MY Renewable Diesel for all diesel-powered vehicles at the airport in addition to providing Neste’s SAF to airlines as well as cargo and business-aviation customers,” said Peter Zonneveld, an executive with Neste. “By providing these renewable products at Cologne Bonn Airport, we at Neste are happy to be able to make a valuable contribution to the airport’s own sustainability goals.”

Switching the diesel-powered vehicle fleet of Cologne Bonn Airport from fossil diesel to renewable diesel from Neste did not require any modifications to the existing diesel vehicles.

Neste MY Renewable Diesel has a similar chemical composition to fossil diesel.

This means that it is a drop-in replacement for fossil diesel, fully compatible with all diesel engines and current fuel-distribution infrastructure.