Fuel consumption for container handling at Copenhagen Malmö Port (CMP) – one of Scandinavia’s largest port operators – is now entirely fossil-free, following the full implementation of HVO100 fuel (hydrogenated vegetable oil).
This shift has resulted in an annual reduction of over 286,000 litres of fossil diesel and a decrease in CO2e emissions by 640 tonnes.
CMP began introducing HVO100, a renewable and fossil-free fuel, at the Copenhagen container terminal in November 2023.
Compared to fossil diesel, HVO100 lowers CO2 emissions by up to 90%. The terminal’s large ship-to-shore (STS) cranes and work vehicles have long been powered by electricity sourced from renewable energy.
Initially, the complete switch to HVO100 in Copenhagen was planned to coincide with the opening of the new container terminal at Ydre Nordhavn in 2025.
However, by the end of 2023, the phase-in had expanded to include terminal tractors, empty container handlers, and forklifts. In early 2024, CMP deployed new battery-hybrid straddle carriers compatible with HVO100 at parts of the terminal.
After successful tests during the summer of 2024 on older straddle carriers, all vehicles and equipment in regular operation have been running fossil-free since 1 August 2024.
“We at CMP are very proud to be able to offer container terminal handling in Copenhagen without the use of fossil fuels – and this is more than half a year ahead of the original schedule. It is therefore very important for us to have eliminated fossil fuels in our terminal operations and thereby support the phase-out of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels in Copenhagen as well as in Malmö,” commented Povl Dolleris Røjkjær Ungar, COO of Copenhagen Malmö Port.