SkyNRG diversifies with Schiphol agreement to supply sustainable diesel for ground vehicles
The SkyNRG/Schiphol agreement follows a pilot in 2011-12 in which 45 vehicles were tested on a 100% sustainable diesel
Wed 11 Sept 2013 – Amsterdam-based sustainable jet fuel company SkyNRG is to supply Schiphol Airport with a 30% sustainable waste based diesel for its ground transport vehicles. The agreement follows a successful pilot in 2011-12 in which 45 vehicles were tested on a 100% sustainable diesel derived from waste products. The sustainable diesel – not to be confused with biodiesel, stresses SkyNRG – is a co-product stream from a large sustainable jet fuel batch it ‘fractionated’ in Europe. By opting for a 30% blend, the fuel meets the EN590 quality standard applying to diesel, which is required by engine manufacturers. SkyNRG says finding customers for its sustainable diesel will help to keep its biojet product affordable to airlines and is looking to other transport segments, such as marine and heavy trucking, where alternative sources of renewable power will be limited for the foreseeable future.
The sustainable diesel, which is sourced from used cooking oil and blended with 70% conventional diesel, will be used on Schiphol ground transportation classified as heavy trucking and is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by around 25%. Schiphol estimates that 30% of its ground fleet cannot be powered more sustainably through electrification.
Sustainable diesel, according to SkyNRG, differs from common biodiesel in that the latter is made by another technique – esterification – and is a FAME (Fatty Acid Methyl Ester) biofuel, whereas sustainable diesel is created in a hydrotreated process to produce Hydrotreated Renewable Diesel (HRD). “The renewable diesel we provide is of a higher quality,” claimed Merel Laroy of SkyNRG.
The company said many obstacles had to be overcome to accomplish a Schiphol-wide roll-out, including the EN590 qualification that allows for compliance with engine manufacturer warranties and dealing with what SkyNRG describes as outdated EU legislation still based on first-generation FAME biofuels.
“Schiphol Airport is a great showcase for us on the technical, operational, legislative and economics side,” said Dirk Kronemeijer, CEO of SkyNRG, which has supplied more than 20 airlines worldwide with its sustainable jet fuel. “We expect to build a momentum for our sustainable heavy trucking fuels that will enable us to create critical scale across the board. This will bring us closer to the day when our sustainable fuels can compete economically head on with fossil fuels.”
For Schiphol Airport, the move to sustainable fuels for its ground transport vehicles fits in with its ambition to become the greenest ‘BioPort’ in the world.
“We are pleased to leverage our high-profile Schiphol platform for technical and market chain innovations, as we do on the sustainable jet fuel side with KLM,” said Schiphol COO Ad Rutten. “The first reactions of other diesel users at Schiphol have been very positive and we invite others to follow our drive for greener ground and air transport.”
