We go HVO!

HVO stands for „Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil” and is made from organic waste materials, such as plant oils and animal fats. This new and fossil-free fuel now replaces the diesel fuel previously used for company-owned snow groomers and heavy equipment on the Kitzsteinhorn and Maiskogel.

The environmentally-friendly, more expensive HVO fuel has passed the practical test on the Maiskogel with flying colors, as Günther Brennsteiner, authorized officer for the technical division of the Gletscherbahnen Kaprun AG explains: “All snow groomers on the Maiskogel were fueled with HVO during the last winter. The results were remarkable: HVO combusts odorless and reduces carbon emissions by 90%, dust emissions by 33%, nitric oxide emissions by 9%, hydrocarbon emissions by 30% and carbon monoxide emissions by 24%. At the same time, there’s no noticeable increase in consumption and HVO ensures high performance even with low temperatures.”

In September, all fuel tanks on the Kitzsteinhorn and Maiskogel were filled up with HVO, so that the modern snow groomers would be ready to be operated when that first snowfall arrived. “Switching diesel with HVO is easy”, says Günther Brennsteiner and further explains: “Fuel tanks and snow groomers don’t have to be cleaned or modified beforehand. Even though HVO is more expensive than diesel, for us it’s an investment in sustainability. We consider organic HVO fuel as significant milestone for reaching our sustainability goals.”