Komatsu announces switch to HVO as factory-fill fuel

Acting now on the road to zero emissions.

Filling a Komatsu machine with HVO as factory-fill fuel at the KGC plant in Hannover, Germany

Komatsu Ltd. (President and CEO: Hiroyuki Ogawa) and its wholly owned subsidiary Komatsu Europe International N.V. (hereafter “Komatsu”) are pleased to announce the company’s decision to switch to Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) as factory-fill fuel for Komatsu equipment produced in Europe.

In line with Komatsu’s long-term goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, and as a challenging target in the mid-term management plan, this Komatsu world first will begin in April 2023 at the Komatsu Germany GmbH, Construction Division (KGC) plant in Hannover, Germany, and at the Komatsu UK plant in Birtley, England, with other Komatsu Europe plants to follow.




The combustion engines in Komatsu machines*¹ can be operated with HVO^*2, with no modifications required. The switch to this renewable, paraffinic fuel as a sustainable alternative to traditional diesel fuel is a major step Komatsu is taking towards reducing its environmental impact. It shows that the company's machines can run on a cleaner and more sustainable fuel, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improving air quality.

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. It can lower the amount of greenhouse gas emitted by your Komatsu equipment by up to 90 percent, if the machine is fuelled with Neste MY Renewable Diesel (= HVO 100) from Neste, one of our main suppliers of HVO.




"HVO not only grants lower emissions during operation by superior chemical composition. said Ingo Büscher, Managing Director of KGC. “Komatsu’s HVO first fill product (Neste MY Renewable Diesel) is mainly made of waste material limiting consumption renewable resources such as vegetable oils." He added: "We are committed to support our customers in achieving their long-term sustainability goals as a one team approach. We believe that HVO is an effective and economical option to both reduce emissions and save limited resources.”

Komatsu’s switch to HVO factory-fill fuel is just one of the many steps that the company is taking towards sustainability, along with the research and development of new technologies and solutions such as electric and hydrogen-powered machines, to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and achieve its zero-emission goal.

By embracing solutions like HVO fuel, Komatsu is helping to create a more sustainable future for the construction and mining industries.

DANTOTSU Value is defined as customer value creation that generates a positive cycle of improvement of earnings and ESG resolutions in Komatsu's mid-term management plan, entitled "DANTOTSU Value - Together, to ‘THE NEXT’ for sustainable growth". Through this DANTOTSU Value, Komatsu will strive to create new values in order to take steady steps forward to the next stage for the workplace of the future and pass on a sustainable future to the next generation.

*1 including the construction, forklift, mining and forestry machines
*2 Only HVOs that conform to the standards can be used for Komatsu machines equipped with Komatsu engines.

Note: The GHG emission reduction varies depending on the region-specific legislation that provides the methodology for the calculations (e.g. EU RED II 2018/2001/EU for Europe and US California LCFS for the US), and the raw material mix used to manufacture the product for each market.

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