Södra's port in Mönsterås, Sweden, becomes fossil-fuel free

Photo: Södra

Södra’s port in Mönsterås, Sweden, will become completely free from fossil fuels in October. All work vehicles and cranes at the port will begin using Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) diesel – a completely fossil-free alternative to standard diesel.

Södra’s port has four cranes and 16 work vehicles. Together, these handle about 3 million tonnes of freight each year. The freight is loaded for transport to Europe by land and sea and includes 430,000 tonnes of paper pulp and 170,000 cubic metres of sawn timber. This will now be carried out using only fossil-free HVO diesel.

The switchover at the port began in the spring of 2017 and was completed at the end of September. The move is part of Södra’s sustainability targets that aim to achieve fossil-free production by 2020 and fossil-free transportation by 2030 – targets adopted in 2016 and assigned the same status as Södra’s financial targets.

 

 

 

“Efforts have focused on examining and ensuring that the HVO diesel is compatible with existing equipment at the port. We are always on the lookout for climate-smart solutions. This is in line with how we want to act and operate as a company,” said Jörgen Erlandsson, Head of Technology, Environment and Quality at Södra’s port in Mönsterås.

 

HVO is both a climate-smart and economical alternative to synthetically produced petrodiesel. The raw materials for Södra’s HVO are slaughterhouse waste and rapeseed oil.

 

“HVO is a better environmental choice because it is 100% fossil-free. This means it is completely renewable and greenhouse gas emissions are substantially lower,” said Åsa Forss, Manager of Södra’s wood-chip truck fleet.