Rail can boast of being the most environmentally friendly transport modality. Nevertheless, not all trains are exactly emission-free. On non-electrified tracks, trains may still need to drive on diesel. RailFreight.com had a chat with DB Cargo on their efforts to switch to the more sustainable diesel alternative: Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO).
One of the steps taken by the company was DB Cargo Italia’s switch to HVO in 2024. After a number of tests, the company decided that twelve diesel locomotives, used for both line and shunting operations, would make the change to HVO.
By now, over 50 per cent of all locomotive fuel consumption consists of HVO. DB Cargo Italia has encountered a small limitation to HVO, however. “Unfortunately, we can’t use it on electric locomotives with diesel last-mile modules because it’s not compatible with the smaller engines”, explains company representative Emanuele Vender.
The operator was also recommended by the lessor to sporadically mix HVO with normal diesel, because there are concerns about the long-term effects with the diesel-substitute being such a novelty. From a technical perspective, the engine is approved for HVO by the manufacturer.
DB using HVO, not only in Italy
The switch of DB’s Italy chapter is not the first or only one. In Germany, 12,9 million litres has already been substituted with HVO. In the UK, the company uses 2,7 million litres of HVO annually. In Poland, the company is working on an introduction of HVO.
Philipp Nowak, project manager at DB Cargo, explains DB Cargo’s HVO ambitions. “We have the aim to be climate neutral by 2040. We are looking for alternatives, but it is a challenge to reduce emissions, specifically on non-electrified tracks in our branch.”
The DB group started a project to look for opportunities. “In rail freight, there are no good technical alternatives to combustion engines at the moment. Battery-electric vehicles don’t have enough capacity, due to our very heavy trains. But we are open to technology.”
And thus, DB turned to HVO. It is a bridging technology for DB until it is clear which type of drive will prevail in the future. The company tested both old and modern engines, to see if they could run on HVO. The company got “good, positive results”, and started approving more locomotives. Since 2023, it has approved all locomotives owned within the DB Cargo group for HVO – over 1400 locomotives in just two years.
A successful alternative
In terms of sustainability, HVO seems to be a success – the data on HVO emissions do not lie. “We are achieving a 90 per cent CO2 reduction by using HVO”, explains Nowak. “But it depends on the producer of the HVO, types that provide an 80 and 85-per cent reduction also exist. It depends on resources used and the production plants.”
DB Cargo Italia’s Emanuele Vender earlier told RailFreight.com that HVO was not supposed to lead to a decrease in performance. Having implemented the HVO switch, he can now confirm that the company has noticed no difference compared to diesel. With the reduction in CO2 emissions and similar performance, it seems that HVO is a great diesel substitute in pursuit of sustainability. Are there any downsides to using it?
The cons of HVO
A slight inconvenience is the question of refuelling. In Italy, DB Cargo has not faced any issue supplying its locomotives with HVO, because it uses trucks to deliver it. In other countries, DB makes use of shared infrastructure. “In those cases, you need to request the authorities to introduce HVO, because every company can refuel there. Under certain circumstances other companies need to approve of it too – and they often don’t”, says Nowak.
The best option for DB Cargo is to use its own fuel infrastructure – which it does in Poland, and partially in Germany and the Netherlands. The company can then decide for itself which fuel to use, rather than depending on other operators.
However, there is a bigger obstacle to using HVO. “The price is the main issue”, says Nowak. HVO is more expensive than diesel, but it differs from country to country. “Due to the growing market, the difference in price between diesel and HVO has been shrinking. We assume that the price difference will decrease in the future if more HVO is sold. In Germany the price difference is between 10 and 20 per cent in comparison to fossil diesel.”
DB’s strategy is to use HVO as much as possible, but it needs to find customers who are willing to pay for it. From the perspective of DB, the company says, HVO is the cheapest and fastest way to reduce CO2 emissions in the rail freight sector. To soften that obstacle, Italy is giving rail companies a 50 cent euro subsidy per litre for the use of HVO.
The price of HVO
Nils Pfennig, communications manager at HVO producer Neste, explains that there are a number of factors that affect the pricing of the diesel alternative. “While the products are similar to each other, their production is not.” The renewable raw materials used in HVO production are more expensive than fossil crude oil, but their prices may fluctuate under the influence of supply, demand and exchange rates. On top of that, Pfennig says, “Fossil diesel production has an advantage of several decades when it comes to optimising its production and the extraction of crude oil,” making it harder for HVO to compete.
“Finally, the costs associated with climate change are hardly factored into fossil fuels”, Pfennig adds. “We see in some countries and jurisdictions that regulators are using the taxation of the fuels to account for the climate benefit of renewable diesel and close the delta between fossil and renewable diesel. We consider this a good approach to ramp-up the use of the fuel.”
More capacity, more resources
Amid growing demand, Neste is growing its HVO production capacity. “In 2025, our production capacity will be 5,5 million tonnes as our recent refinery expansion in Singapore has been completed”, says Pfennig. “At the same time, we are currently expanding our refinery in Rotterdam, which will drive our production capacity to 6,8 million tonnes, by 2027.”
With resources affecting the price level, won’t the growing production level make them more expensive? “We don’t see the availability of these waste and residues as a limiting factor right now. We foresee that by 2030, the global availability of the waste and residues we are currently using will be approximately 40 million tonnes per year. Our production capacity for renewable products currently is 5.5 million tonnes per year”, says the Neste communication manager.
Nevertheless, Neste is looking for more resources for its diesel alternatives. “Going forward and to scale up renewable solutions, it will still be important though to tap into new renewable raw materials to expand the pool. That’s why we, for example, work on raw materials like novel vegetable oils. These are vegetable oils from regenerative agricultural practices, which aim to trap carbon in healthier soils, promote biodiversity and reduce emissions from agriculture, while increasing farm productivity.”