Truck transportation: a. hartrodt drives sustainably ahead in Stuttgart

For air freight pre-carriage, a. hartrodt in Stuttgart and its partners are going green: The freight forwarder has switched to climate-friendly fuel for round trips from the airport to two pilot customers in the state capital of Baden-Wuerttemberg. "Our long-standing partner is refueling diesel vehicles with HVO100," says Joachim Kling, Air Freight Manager at a. hartrodt in Stuttgart. The Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil is made from 100 percent sustainable raw materials such as used cooking oils and fat residues: "CO2 emissions are reduced by approximately 98 percent compared to fossil diesel without converting the engine."

HVO100 filling station at the airport

For sustainable transportation solutions, a. hartrodt examines all options available on the market to see whether they are suitable for individual customer needs. Electric trucks are currently not cost-effective because, among other things, the charging infrastructure is not yet available on a large scale. Joachim Kling explains why a bridging technology was chosen: "Thanks to a long-term contract, our partner can access the required quantity of HVO100 diesel at any time. There are no restrictions when using the vehicles compared to trucks that are fueled with conventional diesel – neither in terms of performance nor in terms of operating times."

Building a bridge to a CO2-neutral future

With up to four trucks a day, a. hartrodt organizes the pre-carriage to Stuttgart airport for one customer. The vehicles cover around 250 kilometers each, and since January 2025 they have been refueled exclusively with HVO100. After their arrival and unloading at the airport, they can "drive straight on", says Joachim Kling. "This allows this customer to avoid almost 99 tons of CO2 per year," he has calculated. In addition, since March up to two vehicles for another customer have been going on a 120-kilometer daily round trip with the alternative fuel. With CO2 reporting, a. hartrodt provides a system that analyzes the emissions of CO2 equivalents of various greenhouse gases.

Considering the minimal additional costs compared to fossil diesel, HVO100 is a sustainable and economical solution. The Stuttgart-based team at a. hartrodt is currently working on an attractive cost model to encourage more customers to go green.