The Bavarian State Estates, based in Grub (municipality of Poing), are making the switch from agricultural diesel to alternative fuels. Many of the agricultural vehicles are fueled with rapeseed oil and HVO100.
Grub – The Bavarian State Estates (BaySG), based in Grub (municipality of Poing), must be climate-neutral in the management of their agricultural operations by 2028, according to the state government. A step towards and away from agricultural diesel is the conversion of agricultural machinery and company vehicles to low-emission fuels. At a press event, BaySG managing director Anton Dippold reported that almost 100 percent of all vehicles and machines are powered by low-emission fuels and drive technologies. Agricultural machines primarily use rapeseed oil and HVO100 fuel, other vehicles such as company cars and small machines use electricity. According to Dippold, the BaySG has so far been able to replace around 400,000 liters of diesel with renewable fuels.
HVO is a hydrogenated plant-based fuel made from waste products (fats and oils) from the food industry. CO2 emissions are reduced by more than 90 percent with HVO, and the fuel is also free of sulfur and aromatics, says Dippold. Disadvantage: “The HVO fuel currently costs around 20 to 25 cents more than fossil diesel.” In contrast to rapeseed oil, no conversion of the tank is necessary. With rapeseed oil, the changeover costs around 10,000 to 12,000 euros.
Good experiences with rapeseed oil and HVO100
BaySG's operations have had good experiences with alternative fuels so far, reports the managing director. A total of 204 agricultural machines are in use at the eight locations in Bavaria, of which 125 are tractors and 79 self-propelled machines such as farm loaders, feed mixers, forklifts and harvesters; also 15 trucks and 68 company cars.
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As Dippold explains, 16 tractors are currently running on rapeseed oil, 184 agricultural machines as well as 15 trucks and 64 cars use HVO100. In addition, four machines, including a farm loader in Grub, run on self-generated electricity. Based on experience so far, HVO fuel is well tolerated in existing machines (old machines). In addition, BaySG, in collaboration with the Straubing Technology and Support Center, is involved in testing tractors from various manufacturers that run on plant-based fuels.
According to Dippold, BaySG sees itself on the right path to climate neutrality. This also includes our own biogas and wood chip heating systems as well as photovoltaic systems. To this end, a large-scale research trial of agri-PV systems will be started at the Grub location in May. The BaySG managing director is in good spirits: “The switch to renewable energy sources at the Bavarian state assets is progressing and we are confident that we will be able to turn things around by 2028.”
BaySG, based in Grub, is a commercially managed state-owned company under the umbrella of the Ministry of Agriculture. They manage around 3,700 hectares of agricultural and forestry land on eight state estates spread across Bavaria. The core tasks are education in the agricultural sector and the implementation of practical experiments. In a certain sense, this also includes converting the fleet to alternative and climate-neutral fuels.