Schuon relies on HVO fuel for customer Saint-Gobain

Next step in the sustainability strategy: Since April 1, 2024, the Schuon Group has been handling all transports for its customer Saint-Gobain Isover G+H AG from Ludwigshafen am Rhein using the innovative fuel HVO100. Schuon transports approximately 7,200 full loads annually for Saint-Gobain. With the hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), the logistics service provider will save around 1,000 tons of CO2 in the coming twelve months.

(Haiterbach) This corresponds to a reduction of about 90 percent compared to conventional diesel. The major advantage: HVO100 can be used directly and without investment with Schuon’s modern fleet and can be refueled using the existing tank infrastructure. It can even be blended with fossil diesel. Schuon sources the fuel from Fritz Wahr Energie GmbH & Co. KG from the neighboring Nagold.

“The decision of the federal government to make HVO100 available for free sale was long overdue. We have been using this sustainable fuel in Hungary for years and have had only positive experiences. Therefore, we are pleased to now handle an important part of our transports in Germany with HVO100,” says Marc Bohnert, Head of Freight Forwarding and Sales at Alfred Schuon GmbH. The significant advantage over electric or hydrogen trucks is that no additional infrastructure needs to be built. HVO100 is produced from vegetable fats and used cooking oils, and can be obtained like fossil diesel at selected gas stations. The trucks do not require modifications to utilize the fuel. Additionally, it has a higher ignition quality, almost no odor emissions, and lower engine deposits. HVO100 also contributes to improved air quality by reducing emitted nitrogen oxides by nine percent and particulate matter emissions by about 35 percent.

Positive signal to stakeholders

The Haiterbacher transport and logistics service provider is thus the first transport service provider for Saint-Gobain Isover G+H to use the innovative fuel. Andres Lohmann, Head of Logistics Purchasing DE at Saint-Gobain, says: “We have maintained a very trusting partnership with Schuon for many years. Open questions were quickly clarified, allowing us to realize the project within a few weeks.” Saint-Gobain has defined clear corporate goals for reducing Scope 3 emissions. HVO100 helps to achieve these goals in the short term. “We are convinced that this initiative not only benefits our environmental balance but also sends a positive signal to our stakeholders that we are actively working towards a greener future in the transport sector,” says Lohmann. Although HVO100 is currently more expensive than fossil diesel, Saint-Gobain will not pass on the additional costs to customers.

Schuon sources the synthetic fuel from the family-owned company Fritz Wahr Energie GmbH & Co. KG in Nagold. The energy trader has sufficient quantities and the corresponding logistics as an importer of HVO to reliably handle the transports with HVO100. Managing Director Wolfgang Wahr says: “The energy transition can only succeed with technological openness. With our new HVO renewable diesel, we enable diesel consumers to be low-emission mobile and drastically reduce CO2 emissions.”

HVO100 as part of the Green Logistics strategy

Alexander Schuon, Managing Director of Alfred Schuon GmbH, says: “For us, transporting for Saint-Gobain with HVO100 is a great milestone in our long-standing collaboration and for our Green Logistics strategy. We are pleased that we can rely on a short-term solution to significantly reduce our CO2 footprint. Successfully launching such a project within a few weeks is only possible with excellent partners.”

Photo: © Schuon / Caption (l. to r.): Hartwin Bisinger, Head of Key Account Management at Wahr, Andres Lohmann, Head of Logistics Purchasing DE at Saint-Gobain, and Marc Bohnert, Head of Freight Forwarding and Sales at Schuon