Schiphol to use HVO in all ground support equipment

All ground handling vehicles on the apron at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam will refuel using HVO 100. (Photo: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol)

Ground handling vehicles on the apron at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the main international airport of the Netherlands, will soon refuel with HVO 100 renewable fuel. The airport said using this fuel will mean a 98% reduction in CO2 emissions. The renewable diesel is expected to be used as an intermediate solution until all vehicles run on electricity or hydrogen and are emission free by 2030.

“This is a significant step on the way towards a zero-emission ground operation in 2030,” said Denise Pronk, responsible for sustainability at Royal Schiphol Group. “The vehicles for which there are currently no electric or hydrogen alternatives available can run on HVO 100. Everyone on airside 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.”

KLM Equipment Services (KES), the fuel supplier for all vehicles on the airport’s flight apron, will be delivering HVO 100 instead of gas-to-liquid (GTL) as of January 1. HVO 100 is a renewable alternative to diesel that is made artificially without the use of fossil resources. The properties of HVO100 are comparable to those of GTL and fossil diesel, said the airport, so modifications to the diesel engines are not necessary.

“At the moment, 40% of the motorised equipment at the airport runs on electricity,” said Paul Feldbrugge, responsible for the Zero Emission Programme within KES. “And that number will increase over the coming years. 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. This is therefore a good intermediate solution.”

Neste supplies the renewable fuel.