Schleswig-Holstein: DB buses run on HVO

Deutsche Bahn is advancing its transformation into a climate-neutral company. The company aims to phase out its last diesel bus by 2038. Until fully climate-neutral drives and their infrastructure are available nationwide, Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) serves as an interim solution. The green alternative has already been successfully used in trains in several regions since last year.

Environmentally friendly interim solution: Three buses are now running on biofuel in the Ostholstein Süd network, with the conversion of 30 additional vehicles in the Rendsburg-Eckernförde network to follow by the end of the year – Deutsche Bahn estimates annual CO₂ savings of nearly 2,000 tons compared to diesel.On behalf of the Ostholstein district, DB subsidiary Autokraft is now operating three buses in the Ostholstein Süd network with biofuel. By the end of the year, another 30 vehicles in the Rendsburg-Eckernförde network will run on HVO. According to the company's own figures, Deutsche Bahn saves nearly 2,000 tons of CO₂ annually with these 33 buses alone.

“With biofuel, our modern diesel buses become climate-friendlier in one go. This way, we can continue to operate them until the end of their service life, protect the climate, and save resources. For new vehicles, we are open to technology and rely, for example, on hydrogen and electric drives. From 2030, we will only procure emission-free buses,” says Evelyn Palla, DB Board Member for Regional Transport.

The biofuel HVO used by DB is made from biological residues and waste materials and is free of palm oil. This means there is no competition with food and feed production. Compared to diesel, the production of HVO generates around 90% less CO₂. Diesel vehicles can be operated with HVO without complex conversions. Consumption, refueling time, and driving behavior remain unchanged.

DB Regio Bus is currently implementing and planning more than 40 traffic and projects with climate-friendly drives at over 35 locations. With around 420 million passengers, the company is the largest provider in the German bus market.

What does this mean?

Alternative fuels are likely to become particularly important for the existing fleet of vehicles. This also applies to regional and coach buses, which typically remain in active service for well over ten years.