fuel Archives

Cut forklift emissions with HVO fuel

Posted on 29 November, 202225 July, 2025 by David Priestman

With the growing drive to tackle the root causes of climate change, companies of all sizes now demand the most sustainable energy solutions for their forklift fleets, writes Toyota Material Handling UK’s Sales Training and Product Development Manager, Sam Gray.

HVO – the latest fuel to come on to the market – is said to allow IC engine-powered forklift truck users to cut their net CO2 emissions by as much as 90%, reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx), and cut both particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions.

Unsurprisingly, many experts consider that HVO has a vital role to play in helping the UK achieve its 2050 net zero target for greenhouse gas emissions.

HVO – or, to give it its full name, Hydrotreated vegetable oil – is a low carbon, low emission, fossil-free, environmentally-friendly and sustainable alternative to conventional fossil diesel. Part of the paraffinic family of fuels, it is clean and safe and meets all relevant fuel standards and EN 15940:2016 specifications.

Synthetically produced

Endorsed by a wide range of original engine manufacturers, HVO is synthetically produced using a complex refinery process that removes oxygen from vegetable oil and waste animal fat molecules and creates hydrocarbons very similar to regular diesel. But it is important to understand that HVO is not biodiesel: it’s fundamentally different and, as such, doesn’t suffer from any of the negative issues sometimes associated with biodiesel.

Impurities are removed from the fuel during the production cycle leaving a consistent, quality product that significantly reduces harmful emissions from diesel engines.

To add to HVO’s green credentials, only completely renewable materials are used in the production process and the crops from which the fuel is made are grown and harvested without damaging the environment or the natural ecosystem.

No need to modify forklift

Already used to power a wide range of modern vehicles as well as construction machinery and industrial power systems, HVO is considered an eco-upgrade on diesel because it is a fuel that not only reduces emissions and burns more cleanly, but is also safer to handle than mineral diesel. While reduced particulate production during the combustion process reduces the ageing of engine oils and improves local air quality.

One of the biggest advantages of HVO is the fact that truck users do not need to modify their diesel-powered forklifts to use it. For example, nearly all Toyota industrial IC engines will run perfectly with HVO fuel and, importantly, no changes are required to the daily running or servicing regimes of Toyota diesel engines if the switch to HVO is made.

Interchangeable with existing diesel

A further plus-point is the fact that, because HVO is 100% interchangeable with conventional fossil diesel, it can be blended at any ratio. So forklift users can simply ‘top-up and go’ without any need to drain or clean fuel tanks. This ability to be interchanged with an absolute minimum of fuss has been recognised and most major engine manufacturers’ warranties will support an instant switch from diesel to HVO.

Possibly the only down-side is that when it comes to price HVO is slightly more expensive than traditional diesel. However, with the high-profile of climate change and environmental concerns always close to the top of the business agenda, many lift truck users believe that the relatively modest extra cost is a price worth paying to be seen to be doing the right thing for the planet.

Five ways to cut fuel costs

Posted on 3 May, 2022 by Keith McKinley

With fuel prices at an all-time high, margins couldn’t be tighter for fleet-based businesses. Even if prices fall back in the short term, market volatility is here for the long haul. And as every fleet manager knows, any uptick in oil prices or unnecessary fuel consumption can hit costs hard and dent profits.

One way around this is to squeeze more miles out of every last drop of fuel, and technology is increasingly being used to achieve this goal.

Using sensors located in vehicles and linked to an always-on communications network that feeds back to a single screen, fleet managers can now gain a real-time overview of their entire operation.

By harnessing the Internet of Things (IoT), fleet managers can access in-depth data about vehicle and driver performance that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. Fleet managers can see instantly which vehicles are using fuel economically and those that are prone to be thirsty.

Here, Philip van der Wilt, VP EMEA, Samsara, picks the key elements where connected operations technology can empower fleet managers to make informed decisions about how to improve fuel efficiency and keep a lid on costs.

1. Cutting fuel consumption

Modern monitoring systems not only show how much fuel is being combusted, they allow you to account for how each drop is used. For instance, abnormally high fuel use linked with specific vehicles may point to a maintenance issue.

On the other hand, higher than average fuel consumption by individual drivers may suggest that driving traits — such as sudden increases or decreases in speed, heavy braking, speeding or prolonged stops with the engine still running — may need to be addressed.

Monitoring fuel consumption this way, ensuring vehicles work at their best and drivers refrain from fuel-burning driving behaviours, can deliver tangible benefits.

2. Improving fuel efficiency

Carefully planned itineraries that optimise delivery routes and payloads can go a long way to help with improving fuel efficiency. It’s not just planning before a vehicle leaves a depot or yard either. Real-time traffic information can highlight congestion — caused by accidents, road works or the sheer volume of traffic — so alternative routes can be initiated quickly.

In fact, the huge volume of data created through IoT-enabled connected operations enable hundreds and thousands of calculations to be carried out in minutes to ensure that each vehicle, driver, route and payload is optimised for fuel efficiency.

3. Identifying and eradicating unnecessary idling time

Attempts to reduce unnecessary engine idling are nothing new. It’s estimated that idling for one hour can consume up to a gallon of fuel. It might not seem like much, but incremental consumption over time and across a whole fleet quickly adds up.

As the price of fuel continues to climb, excessive idling only increases costs.

Connected technology that is embedded in vehicles can identify the causes of idling in real-time, whether it’s down to driver behaviour, road/traffic-related hold-ups or the need to power ancillary devices such as refrigeration systems.

In doing so, fleet managers gain a complete oversight of what idling is unavoidable, and those areas where changes would reap sizable savings.

4. Estimating fuel costs and managing change

A valuable approach for fleet managers is the ability to estimate costs as part of a broader fuel and energy report.

The most effective management tools are those that can calculate fuel costs using various price points — accounting for predicted price fluctuations — providing a view on the impact of (likely) future price hikes or fluctuations.

These planning scenarios may not deliver savings in the short term but estimates and predictions about changing input costs can help to shape management decisions and financial planning that contributes to the profitability of the business.

5. Engine run time vs miles travelled

Accurate engine hour data helps businesses monitor the wear and tear on their vehicles, even when the vehicle is stationary. The information has proven to be invaluable when it comes to fleet management systems enabling the scheduling of preventive maintenance alerts based on engine hours rather than miles travelled.

The information can also be fed into maintenance assessment programs that pinpoint exactly when vehicles need to be off the road and in the workshop. These predictive maintenance breaks – rather than more rigid scheduled downtime based on miles driven – can help to pre-empt avoidable breakdowns and costly repairs.

Such systems can also help to predict more accurately when a vehicle is no longer commercially viable and should be replaced.

Small changes, big savings

Each of these areas has the potential to reduce unnecessary fuel consumption and save costs. But, added together, across a whole fleet, over a year, and it’s easy to see how the combination of small changes can add up to a big cost saving.

Just as a vehicle is at its best when it’s properly maintained and running efficiently, so too is a fleet of vehicles that makes optimal use of fuel saving telematics to make sure it’s running on all cylinders.

Methanol-fuelled ships “less costly to build and operate”

Posted on 28 July, 2021 by Keith McKinley

Methanol (CH₃OH) as a commercially and technically viable marine fuel is gaining greater traction over other alternative bunkers, including LNG, as more shipowners adopt the clean burning fuel as price spreads narrow and production ramps up.

Speaking at a virtual conference last week, Greg Dolan, CEO of the Methanol Institute, a trade body whose shipowner members include Maersk, Stena Bulk, MSC, MOL and Oldendorff Carriers, predicts that methanol production costs will fall to become more competitively priced than traditional diesel bunker and other alternative fuels.

Dolan suggested that the move to CH₃OH would also help shipowners avoid the proposed carbon tax on diesel, which could be between US$250 and $450/t of CO2.

“There’s a call by many including the world’s largest shippers for a carbon tax on diesel fuels. That would dramatically change the pricing picture for marine fuels and the only available alternative fuel options today are advanced biofuels, LNG and methanol.”

As a transitional fuel, methanol is supported by the International Maritime Organization in its recent adoption of safe handling guidelines under the IGF Code for low flashpoint fuels.

“This has been an important milestone in the growth of methanol as a marine fuel,” Dolan said. “And while LNG paved the way for methanol, methanol adoption can be a model for ammonia and hydrogen in the future.”

According to Dolan, CH₃OH production increased last year to 100Mmt, doubling production in a decade. He said production could reach 500Mmt by 2050, as predicted in a joint Methanol Institute/International Renewable Energy Agency report released earlier this year.

Little time left to wait

Commenting on those shipowners that have already announced plans to include methanol within their fuel pool, Dolan told attendees at the Maritime AMC-organised Alternative Fuels webinar that first movers, such as Maersk, understand “there is little time left to wait on potential solutions that might fulfil 100% of their 2050 goals. They know we don’t have 30 years to wait.”

Maersk announced in March that its first CH₃OH-burning vessel will launch in 2023, seven years ahead of schedule. The company also mooted an order for twelve 15,000TEU methanol-fuelled containerships.

Another advocate is Proman Stena Bulk. The joint venture between shipowner Stena Bulk and CH₃OH producer Proman is planning to build six 50,000dwt tankers with methanol dual-fuel engines for delivery in 2023.

A further three vessels owned solely by Proman, scheduled for delivery in 2022 and 2023, will be traded globally for shipping chemicals and clean petroleum products.

Anita Gajadhar, Managing Director Proman Marketing, Logistics and Shipping, said: “For us, methanol is a proven fuel capable of meeting the shipping industry’s carbon reduction targets. When you look at the long-term pricing, it is competitive when compared to alternatives, like MGO. It is easy to bunker, it is safe to bunker, and it is widely available as bunker in 122 ports.”

Gajadhar claimed that methanol is currently being traded at a price lower than LNG in some ports, and is less to bunker than biofuel, currently traded at US$1,200/t or more.

“Methanol is actually going to be a little bit cheaper than some of the biofuels that are available in the market today…. In terms of CAPEX, it is also a lot cheaper to modify vessels for methanol than it is for LNG,” she said.

Lower build costs

Methanol-fuelled newbuilds also cost less than a LNG-burning ship, according to engine builders MAN Energy Solutions and Wärtsilä.

Kjeld Aabo, Director New Technologies two-stroke promotion, MAN Energy Solutions, told attendees that a 54,300m3 capacity product tanker running a methanol-fuelled engine would add about 10% to the newbuild price. The same vessel running on LNG would cost 22% more than a conventional HFO-burning ship.

The engine builder, which first unveiled and tested a CH₃OH dual-fuel engine in 2016 and has a current orderbook of 23 ME-LGIM engines, said methanol combustion emits 8% less CO2 than an HFO Tier II engine.

SOx emissions are reduced by 97% and NOx up to 60%. And since the methanol molecule contains no carbon-carbon bonds, it does not produce particulate matter or soot when burned resulting in smokeless operation

“I really believe there will be a big market for methanol in the future and the technology on the engine side is there,” said Aabo.

Toni Stojcevski, General Manager, Project Sales & Development, Wärtsilä, agreed but warned “if we are going to be compliant in 2050, with a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, then we need to prepare and start executing today.”

While Wärtsilä introduced a CH₃OH engine in in 2013, Stojcevski revealed that the engine builder expects to have an ammonia-fuelled engine operating next year and a pure hydrogen engine in 2025. The company also plans to launch a new methanol-burning engine based on its proven W32 series in late 2023. This will be available for newbuilds and retrofit.

Closing the webinar Dolan said: “Methanol engines are available. The fuel is available. The infrastructure is there and it’s affordable. We can act now.”

Freightliner secures duel-fuel project funding

Posted on 8 July, 2021 by Keith McKinley

Freightliner, in partnership with a consortium of specialist suppliers, has been successful in securing government funding to develop a dual-fuel solution for the Class 66 locomotive.

The technology is one of the 30 winners of the latest round of the First of a Kind (FOAK) competition announced by the Transport Secretary. Already the safest and greenest mode of ground-freight transportation, the competition has been aimed at making the railways even cleaner, greener and more passenger friendly.

This is the first time that this technology, which is widely used in the road industry, will be applied to the rail freight sector on such an important and widely used class of locomotive. Work commenced on 1st July and will take place over a nine-month period.

The key project partners are Freightliner, which operates over 113 Class-66s in the UK, and Clean Air Power, a provider of innovative clean air solutions for freight. The project is also supported by Network Rail, Tarmac, Rail Safety Standards Board (RSSB), Flogas, Carrickarory and the University of Birmingham.

The project will investigate the ability to substitute diesel with both hydrogen and biogas on the Class-66 locomotive which hauls over 80% of freight on the UK rail network and, in doing so, reduce carbon emissions on one of the industry’s most challenging two-stroke locomotives. This will be achieved by retrofitting the Class 66 with Clean Air Power’s precision injection technology, creating a Class 66 that can run on a combination of diesel, biogas and hydrogen.

This sustainable solution will support a programme to decarbonise freight operating companies’ diesel fleets in a cost-efficient manner that does not require significant short-term investment and facilitates operational learning in support of a longer-term fleet replacement programme, potentially using 100% hydrogen fuel.

Exhaust emissions will be assessed in line with the latest RSSB guidance to understand both the baseline conditions and the impact of dual-fuelling for both hydrogen and biogas. Emissions and substitution data is a key output of this project and will be available to RSSB.

All work on locomotives, static testing and emission data collection will be carried out at Freightliner’s vehicle maintenance facility in Leeds, supported by Carrickarory Consultancy and in consultation with RSSB.

“Freightliner is excited to be a key partner in this pioneering decarbonisation project,” said Freightliner UK Rail Managing Director Tim Shakerley. “As the largest freight operator of electric traction, we already have a number of environmentally motivated initiatives underway and are delighted to be working with Clean Air Power and other partners on this additional government-funded project. With decarbonisation high on the agenda, these initiatives will further support the government’s pledge to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.”

Dan Skelton, Managing Director of Clean Air Power, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Freightliner and other partners on this project. All parties are focussed on delivering a fully functioning low-carbon, low-emission, hydrogen-friendly Class 66 locomotive.

“Our solution offers a route to viable, long-term decarbonisation and its associated cost benefits, which will be practical to implement and scale. With the know-how and expertise, we share, we’re looking forward to this new and exciting initiative making a real difference.”

BioLNG production project at French port

Posted on 5 July, 2021 by Keith McKinley

EveRé, operator of the multi-process household waste treatment plant commissioned by Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence, the CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, Elengy, a subsidiary of Engie, operating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals at Fos-sur-Mer and TotalEnergies, a global multi-energy company that produces and supplies energy, have joined forces to study the feasibility of creating France’s first production unit for liquefied biomethane (BioLNG), a low-carbon alternative fuel dedicated to energy transition in the shipping industry.

Produced by converting the biodegradable part of household waste from the Marseille Provence region, BioLNG would allow for the decarbonization of shipping services departing from the Grand Port Maritime in Marseille and would be used primarily for the CMA CGM Group’s LNG-powered vessels.

The project forms a circular economic system. Using the area’s household waste will help reduce local air pollutants (nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides and fine particles), improving air quality and quality of life for people living in the region and supporting the energy transition in the shipping industry.

A concrete commitment to energy transition in shipping

BioLNG, combined with the dual-fuel gas engine technology developed by CMA CGM, reduces greenhouse gas emissions (including carbon dioxide) by at least 67% relative to well-to-wake VLSFO (the complete value chain). On the basis of a tank-to-wake measurement (at vessel level), greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by 88%.

Liquefied natural gas allows for a 99% reduction in sulphur oxide emissions, a 91% reduction in fine particles emissions and a 92% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions. By the end of 2024, 44 of the CMA CGM Group’s vessels will be powered by LNG.

A project integrated into the local ecosystem

The project fits perfectly into the local ecosystem, benefiting from the particularly well-suited and already existing infrastructure at the Grand Port Maritime, including EveRé’s waste methanization unit, Elengy’s LNG terminals, which will be used for the storage and delivery of the BioLNG, TotalEnergies’ bunker vessel, which will be located at the port as of January 2022, and CMA CGM’s fleet of LNG-powered vessels. The feasibility study has been launched within the framework of this large-scale project, which corresponds with the national drive to promote BioLNG as defined in France’s Mobility Orientation Law.

CMA CGM, Engie and TotalEnergies: three corporations committed to supporting sustainable mobility

The CMA CGM Group, Engie and TotalEnergies have already been working together for several months as part of the Coalition for the Energy of the Future, which aims to step up the pace of development of future energy sources and technologies and to support new sustainable mobility models, thereby reducing the environmental impact of transportation and logistics.

In order to make true technological revolutions possible and achieve tangible results by 2030, the Coalition has set three main targets:

to considerably increase clean energy supply sources;
to reduce energy consumption per equivalent kilometer transported;
to reduce the proportion of emissions attributable to transportation and logistics.