As Deutsche Bahn, we will become climate-neutral by 2040. To achieve this goal, we are focusing on the further electrification of our rail network as part of our decarbonization strategy. At the same time, there will also be routes in the future on which we will not always be able to transport goods and passengers to their destination electrically due to geographical or operational characteristics. We are therefore developing green solutions for refueling our diesel fleet on rail and road.
Biofuel in rail freight transport
Large loads often have to be transported in rail freight transport. There is currently still a lack of technical solutions to completely dispense with diesel engines. We are therefore working on refueling our diesel fleet with alternative fuels and thus reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. For example, DB Cargo offers its customers the opportunity to make rail transport even more climate-friendly on non-electrified routes as part of the Climate+ offer.
One lever on our path to climate neutrality is the expansion of alternative drives and fuels to replace fossil diesel. Specifically, we are focusing on biofuels such as HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil). This fuel is produced from biological residues and waste materials. No additional agricultural land is used for its production, which could compete with food and animal feed production. It is also important to us that the biofuel is free of palm oil. For this reason, we have our suppliers issue us with corresponding certificates confirming compliance with our high requirements.
Compared to conventional diesel, HVO produces up to 90 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions. This is because combustion in the engine only releases CO2e that was previously removed from the atmosphere during plant growth. The rest of the greenhouse gas emissions are generated during the production and transportation of the fuels, so in the upstream chain.
We have tested and approved the use of HVO for the entire cargo fleet of our shunting and mainline diesel locomotives in freight transport in Europe. The results show: The engines work perfectly and the performance is not affected by the biofuel. Our locomotives in Italy are also switching from fossil diesel to biofuel, making the railways even more climate-friendly. At DB Cargo Italia S.r.l., for example, all locomotives near Cervignano and Brescia (in northern Italy) run on HVO.
Green refueling infrastructure
In order to supply our locomotives with the new fuel, we have already converted around 20 of our refueling stations in Germany and concluded long-term HVO purchase agreements. DB Cargo in particular benefits from this in freight transport. Two of the largest filling stations in Germany are located at the classification yard in Halle (Saale) and Munich North. Here, our diesel and shunting locomotives now fill up with HVO. However, both filling stations can also be used by other rail companies.
Biofuel in track construction
The entire fleet of trackwork vehicles of the DB Bahnbau Group has also been approved for refueling with HVO. This means that our train drivers can refuel with biofuel wherever it is available. The two DB Bahnbau Group refueling stations in Königsborn and Augsburg have already been converted accordingly.
Climate-friendly Sylt Shuttle
DB Fernverkehr also uses the biofuel. Both the Sylt Shuttle car trains and the Sylt Shuttle Plus trains are fueled with HVO. This enables us to avoid around 7,500 tons of CO2e on the rail route between Westerland and Niebüll every year. We also want to convert the few remaining long-distance trains that are currently still running on fossil diesel to biofuel in the future.
Climate-friendly travel on regional transport
We are also making regional transport even more climate-friendly for our customers. DB Regio and the state of Baden-Württemberg are sending the first trains on the Aulendorfer Kreuz and Donau-Ostalb regional network with HVO. The diesel trains do not have to be specially converted for this. They refuel at our filling station in Aulendorf, which we have completely converted from fossil diesel to biofuel. This filling station can also be used by other rail companies.
In another pilot project, our DB subsidiary Kurhessenbahn and the Nordhessischer VerkehrsVerbund (NVV) are using environmentally friendly HVO. To this end, DB Energie has expanded the offer at the refueling facility in Kassel, so that trains can also access biofuel here. The regional trains of the Schwarzatalbahn in Thuringia are also running on HVO in a pilot project. The trains are refueled at the refueling facility in Katzhütte, which was upgraded for this purpose by DB Energie.
We also send around 20 trains on the Sauerland network on biofuel. To this end, we have set up a mobile tank container in Fröndenberg, which supplies the multiple units of the RB 54 line with HVO. In future, we want to use biofuel at other locations throughout Germany. This will make our already climate-friendly regional rail services even more attractive for our passengers.
In Bavaria, seven trains are running on climate-friendly HVO for the first time in a pilot project on the Südostbayernbahn. They are in operation on the Gäubodenbahn from Neufahrn via Straubing to Bogen and on the Rottalbahn from Mühldorf to Passau. DB Energie has equipped a filling station at Straubing station for refueling with HVO. We financed the equipment at the filling station together with the Free State of Bavaria. The additional costs for the HVO fuel will be covered by the Free State for at least one year.
Fossil-free on the road
HVO is an alternative to fossil diesel not only on the railways, but also on the roads. At DB Regio Bus, for example, the buses of Autokraft GmbH run on the climate-friendly biofuel. The first vehicles are on the road in Schleswig-Holstein in the Ostholstein Süd transport region. The biofuel can be used without costly conversions to the vehicles. Consumption, refueling time and driving behavior also remain the same. The buses can refuel at the first regular HVO bus filling station at the Autokraft depot in Neustadt.
At Regionalbus Braunschweig (RBB), all Deutsche Bahn buses operating in the Baddeckenstedt area (Lower Saxony) have been converted to run on HVO. In regional transport, we will be phasing out the last fossil diesel bus by 2038.
In the logistics sector, DB Schenker uses the biofuel for its European truck fleet, for example. The first HVO-fueled vehicles are already on the road in Sweden.
