Volkswagen powers freighters with used cooking oil

By RIZAL JOHAN | 1 December 2020


WOLFSBURG: Volkswagen Group Logistics will be using certified fuel from vegetable residues for certain new car shipments via marine routes.

The fuel is produced from materials such as used oil from restaurants and the food industry.

The first car freighter was re-fuelled for the first time with this oil in mid-November 2020 and a second ship is due to follow at the beginning of 2021.

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“We are the first automaker to make widespread use of this fuel. This way, we reuse waste oil in an environmentally compatible way. With 85% lower CO2 emissions than with conventional fossil fuels, the contribution to climate protection is enormous,” says Thomas Zernechel, Head of Volkswagen Group Logistics.

For European shipments, Volkswagen Group Logistics continuously charters two vessels which carry up to 3,500 vehicles on a route from Emden via Dublin (Ireland), Santander (Spain) and Setubal (Portugal) back to Emden about 50 times per year.

In the course of their journeys, they carry about 250,000 new vehicles of the Audi, Seat, Škoda, Volkswagen passenger cars and Volkswagen commercial vehicles brands every year.

This change is part of a strategy to make Group Logistics even greener: another element is the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to power car freighters.

These vessels travel between Europe, North America and Latin America. Furthermore, all rail shipments in Germany with DB Cargo are being changed over to eco-power.

“This way, Volkswagen Group Logistics is helping the Group achieve net carbon neutrality by 2050,” says Zernechel.

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