Komatsu to switch to HVO as factory-fill fuel

Filling a Komatsu machine with HVO at the company’s Hannover plant in Germany. (Photo: Komatsu)

The move, which is line with Komatsu’s long-term goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, and starts this month at plants in Hannover, Germany, and Birtley, United Kingdom.

Komatsu said the combustion engines in its machines – including those produced for the construction and demolition industries – can be operated with HVO, with no modifications required, and described the swich as a major step towards reducing its environmental impact.

HVO is produced from renewable raw material such as cooking oil and animal fats wastes. It is a simple drop-in replacement for fossil diesel, but with high cetane, no oxygen and no aromatics.

Its introduction at Komatsu is part of a sustainability programme that also includes research and development of new technologies and solutions such as electric and hydrogen-powered machines.

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