In line with our ambition to become one of the most sustainable global professional sports teams, we have successfully powered our race and marketing trucks and generators for the 2024 European Season on HVO100, a second-generation biofuel.
Working with our Title and Technical Partner PETRONAS and our logistics partners, we set a target to extend our use of biofuels during the nine 2024 European races, powering our freight logistics and motorhome on sustainable fuels.
Despite the complexities of the supply chain across Europe, we are proud to have achieved 98% biofuel coverage in our race and marketing trucks and generators, resulting in a saving of over 500 tCO₂e from our carbon footprint.1
This represents an uplift from 74% biofuel coverage over the 2023 European races to 98% coverage in 2024. These results take us closer to our target for Race Team Control Net Zero by 2030 and form part of our wider sustainable fuels strategy.
Since our initial pilot in 2022, we are pleased to have provided a proof of concept to help reduce the impact of our sport’s logistics and power demands. We extend our thanks to our Title and Technical Partner PETRONAS for their invaluable support and market expertise in helping to develop our biofuel capabilities over the past three seasons. Sourcing and delivering HVO100 in bulk to multiple locations across Europe, PETRONAS’s contribution to fuelling the marketing trucks which deliver our motorhome has been critical to ensuring the success of our achievements and progress.
Like all industries, we have much to learn on how we can become more sustainable in our logistics and travel but are proud to lead the way and make a positive impact. As Formula One scale their sustainable centralised power solution for European races in 2025, we will continue to drive the use of sustainable fuels and make progress in extending our biofuel use to flyaway races next season.
Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team
“Powering our European season on biofuel is a first for our team and sport, and I hope our achievements, with the invaluable support, expertise and supply capability of our Title and Technical Partner PETRONAS, will inspire others to follow. We look forward to now challenging ourselves to expand the use of sustainable fuel in our logistics beyond the European races and continuing to prepare for the introduction of the fully sustainable fuel which will power the 2026 cars on track.”
Alice Ashpitel, Head of Sustainability, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team
“We’re a team of problem solvers and pursuing sustainable high performance is always front of mind. Optimising our logistics operations and achieving almost total biofuel coverage reflects our team’s significant sustainability efforts and it’s a real inspiration to see the reduction of our impact at the track and on the road. We continue to address the largest sources of our emissions, and how we transport the team’s freight and power our operations across the globe remain key focus areas.”
Notes:
1 Calculated using the difference between the Well to Wheel (WTW) emissions for HVO100 and average biodiesel blend from UK Government GHG Conversion Factors (2024) and total fuel consumption across the European season for Race & Marketing Trucks and Generators.
2024 Biofuels Target
In May, we announced a target of 100% biofuel logistics for the European season by extending the use of biofuels across our trackside generators and our fleet of Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks. This season’s results have been calculated based on fuel used in our motorhome and trackside generators, and all freight transported in our race and marketing trucks. The results exclude Formula One’s sustainable centralised power solution which powered our generators in Austria, Hungary and Monza.
2023 Biofuels Rollout
In 2023 we built on the success of our 2022 biofuels trial, significantly increasing our HVO100 usage across the European season. We achieved an emissions reduction of 67% and a saving of 339 tCO₂e for our race and hospitality trucks and generators. Our fleet of trucks travelled 386,000km on HVO100 with every kilometre travelled saving 90% of CO₂ emissions versus traditional diesel.
2022 Biofuels Trial
In September 2022, we concluded a trial in the use of HVO100 in 16 of our race trucks for the final three European races. The trial was designed to understand the level of carbon saving achievable, as well as identifying sourcing challenges. Analysis conducted after the trial concluded the use of HVO100 reduced the freight emissions of the trucks by 89%.
HVO100 Biofuel
HVO100, short for hydrotreated vegetable oils, is a liquid bio-based fuel made from vegetable oil feedstocks. The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts a continuous rise in biofuel usage, recognizing them as a powerful tool in reducing fuel-related emissions. The use of HVO100 can significantly reduce CO2 emissions and reduce the impact of freight on local air quality by reducing NOx and particulate emissions. Bioenergy is an important pillar of decarbonisation in the energy transition as a near zero-emission fuel.
Suppliers
The team would like to thank our Title and Technical Partner PETRONAS and our logistics partners for their invaluable support and commitment in supporting our sustainability ambitions.
Sustainability Report
Our latest Sustainability Report was published in July 2024. To view and for further information on our ambitions, please visit the Sustainability section of our website.
SOURCE: Mercedes-Benz
