Renewable solutions
7 minute read
Empowering industries with renewable diesel: A path to net zero
In an era where the urgency of climate action has never been more pressing, industries worldwide face the task of reducing their carbon footprint while maintaining operational efficiency and cost effectiveness. The versatility of Neste MY Renewable Diesel has led to its use across diverse sectors, each with its own success story in the energy transition.
At the end of January 2025, Joerg Huebeler, Head of Market Development, Transportation & Industry at Neste, had recently returned from the international Fuels of the Future conference held in Berlin. In a keynote speech presented together with BMW, the companies announced their partnership and discussed the implications of the EU Renewable Energy Directive III on renewable fuels. At the end of 2024, Huebeler had also shared the stage with Porsche at IAA Transportation in Hannover to highlight Neste’s cooperation with the vehicle manufacturer on using Neste MY Renewable DieselTM for reducing emissions in the company’s logistics chain.
Huebeler considers these landmark achievements, signaling there is a rethinking process in motion.
“In my view, we have reached a significant milestone with major OEMs recognizing that electrification is not the only way forward. I was happy to share this view with thought leaders such as BMW and Porsche which are promoting an open approach to different technologies enabling the shift to a more sustainable mobility,” Huebeler says.
While the transition to e-mobility might be easier for passenger cars and lighter vehicles, hard-to-abate sectors like construction, freight, and rail transport require other alternatives to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is where Neste’s renewable diesel can help: immediate GHG emission reductions as possible without costly fuel distribution infrastructure modifications or engine conversions.
Neste believes all solutions are needed if we are to reach the decarbonization goals necessary for climate change mitigation.
“For instance, heavy transport and construction, as well as agriculture cannot be electrified at scale within the upcoming decades. This is why multiple operators are working with us to reach their sustainability targets while simultaneously adopting a solution that makes the transition economically feasible,” Huebeler notes.
Immediate impact, zero compromise
By switching to Neste MY Renewable Diesel, GHG emissions can be significantly reduced when compared to fossil diesel, according to life cycle assessment (LCA). This reduction comes without compromising on vehicle or machine performance or reliability. The product is a pure hydrocarbon diesel fuel (hydrotreated vegetable oil, HVO) with a similar chemical composition to fossil diesel, allowing the fuel to be used as a drop-in replacement to fossil diesel. It can be used unblended, i.e. neat (at 100% concentration), or blended with fossil diesel at any ratio.
“Besides providing a significant carbon footprint reduction, Neste MY Renewable Diesel as a lower-emission alternative is technically superior to conventional biofuels. The fuel delivers the same high performance as fossil diesel, but enables a cleaner combustion and comes without impurities. The fuel can be stored over longer periods of time without any risk of quality deterioration, which makes it clearly superior to conventional biofuels,” Huebeler says.
Besides providing a significant carbon footprint reduction, Neste MY Renewable Diesel as a lower-emission alternative is technically superior to conventional biofuels.
Another key benefit of Neste MY Renewable Diesel is its global availability. The company's refineries in Finland, the Netherlands, Singapore, and its joint operation producing the fuel in the US collectively produce 5.5 million tons of renewable products annually, with capacity expansion projects underway.
“I think it is quite an achievement how we have transformed from a local Finnish oil refiner to the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. We already have production on three continents. We are currently scaling up our production by aiming to double the capacity of our refinery in Rotterdam, which will increase our global renewables production capacity to 6.8 million tons annually in 2027.”
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions across industries
Neste’s renewable diesel is best known for its use as a road transportation fuel around the world. But over the recent decade, organizations in the construction, agriculture, railway, marine, mining, data center as well as sports and other events sectors have all benefited from switching to Neste MY Renewable Diesel.
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In Germany, examples include the national railway company Deutsche Bahn and its subsidiary DB Cargo switching to Neste MY Renewable Diesel in their diesel-powered locomotives and railcars, while the construction machinery manufacturer Liebherr has been using Neste MY Renewable Diesel at its plants in Kirchdorf and Ehingen, for example in the initial fueling of their machines and vehicles and in all manufacturing plant traffic.
In the Netherlands, Staatsbosbeheer, the Dutch government organization for forestry and the management of nature reserves, has opted for Neste MY Renewable Diesel in its tractors, vessels, and off-road vehicles since 2015.
In the Nordics, over 80% of the fleet of the public transport company Nobina run on renewable fuels, one of the solutions being Neste MY Renewable Diesel. Also Neste and Finland's national ice hockey league, Liiga, have a collaboration in which the majority of the Liiga teams are using Neste MY Renewable Diesel in their bus transportation during the 2024–2025 season.
In the US, Power Engineering, a construction company with a strong track record in heavy-civil and marine construction, commercial diving and design-build solutions, transitioned its entire harbor craft marine fuel supply and land-based equipment fleet to run on Neste MY Renewable Diesel, reducing their GHG emissions and enhancing operations with minimum downtime.
In Asia-Pacific, Neste and KPI OceanConnect, a global provider of marine energy solutions, recently announced an industry-first collaboration on the supply of Neste MY Renewable Diesel to the marine sector in Singapore in partnership with Global Energy for operational delivery in Singapore waters.
Renewable power for backup generators
One of the newest sectors to improve their sustainability by switching to renewable diesel are data center providers. ST Telemedia Global Data Centres set an example by becoming the first in the industry in Singapore to power its backup power generators with Neste’s renewable diesel. The transfer from fossil diesel is a significant step towards achieving the company’s sustainability goals.
In Finland, Verne, a provider of sustainable data center solutions for high intensity computing, chose Neste’s renewable diesel to power its backup generators in the Finnish cities Helsinki, Pori and Tampere. In Sweden, EcoDataCenter has also switched to Neste MY Renewable Diesel for its emergency power generators to reduce its carbon footprint, while ensuring uninterrupted power supply. Crucial for the operations, Neste MY Renewable Diesel provided in the Nordic market is well suited for very cold weather conditions. It can be used in low temperatures and has a reliable start-up in cold weather conditions.
More ambitious regulation needed
Huebeler stresses that the biggest hurdle slowing down companies’ efforts and necessary investments towards decarbonization is unclear regulation. In his view, all lower-emission solutions should be treated equally, so as not to limit any options.
“For example, it does not make sense to force a small logistics company to invest in electric trucks if they simply cannot charge them. A consistent and reliable regulation framework would help companies to trust and invest in alternative solutions, such as renewable diesel, to reduce fossil fuel dependency.”
He calls for more ambitious mandates to increase greenhouse gas emission reductions, which would create a certain necessity for switching to lower-emission solutions, such as renewable fuels. Favorable energy taxation and tolls can also help to speed up the transition.
“This has been the case, for example, in California, where renewable diesel is more or less at the same price point as fossil diesel.”
A cost-effective and reliable solution
Considering cost, the other main obstacle for companies aiming to switch to lower-emission solutions, Neste has applied a total cost of ownership (TCO) perspective to a study comparing the use of renewable diesel, e-mobility and hydrogen in freight logistics. This includes the purchase price of a particular asset, plus operating costs over the asset’s life span.
“Based on the results we can clearly say that our renewable fuel is the most cost-efficient solution for significant emission reductions,” Huebeler states.
Based on the results we can clearly say that our renewable fuel is the most cost-efficient solution for significant emission reductions
"Beyond its high quality and immediate emissions reductions, Neste as a company is a reliable partner that has been recognized for its sustainability,” Huebeler adds. For example, Neste has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices of the world's most sustainable companies already for 18 consecutive years.
“Our customers can rely on Neste safeguarding their journey towards carbon neutrality on a global scale, providing a transparent supply chain,” Huebeler concludes.
