Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team Announces Results of Biofuel Use in European Season

(Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team) Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team achieves emissions reduction of 67% for race and hospitality trucks and generators through biofuels use, saving 339 tCO2e during F1 European season.

The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, working together with our Title and Technical Partner PETRONAS and our logistics partners, saved 339 tCO2e and reduced race and hospitality trucks and generator emissions by 67% through HVO100 biofuel use over the course of the 2023 Formula One European season.1

The combined 67% emissions reduction and 339 tCO2e saving, calculated in line with the GHG protocol and latest DEFRA GHG emissions factors, exceeded the team's initial targets of 60% emissions reduction reduction for our fleet of trucks and generators and 200 tCO2e saved across the season.

As part of our strategy to lessen the impact of road-based freight logistics, our trucks and generators were refuelled where possible using second-generation biofuel HVO100 across the European races from May to September. The trucks transport all the team’s freight required for each race, while the generators power the team’s engineering and hospitality units in the Formula One paddock.

Our trucks travelled on HVO100 biofuel for over 386,000km, from a total distance travelled of 460,000 km, and 35% of all generator fuel used was HVO100.2 The emissions reduction achieved by our fleet of trucks was 307 tCO2e, with the generators totalling 32 tCO2e emissions reduction. Undertaking this initiative across many European countries, with supply levels fluctuating in certain geographies, added to the complexity of the project.

The team will use the learnings from the 2023 season to continue to drive towards the full use of HVO100 in our trucks in 2024 and increasing the use of HVO100 in our generators, alongside delivering efficiencies in the paddock to reduce our reliance on those generators.

Alice Ashpitel, Head of Sustainability at the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team said: “We are delighted to achieve such a positive set of results and reduce our freight and generator emissions significantly over this season’s European races. The use of biofuels is one of our key pioneering initiatives as part of our overarching sustainability strategy for achieving Net Zero for our Race Team Controlled emissions by 2030.

“We had to overcome complex logistical hurdles on this project. To achieve such a significant reduction in freight and generator emissions demonstrates the strong collaboration between the team, PETRONAS and our logistics partners. This project marks a significant step forward and a strong proof point supporting the wider adoption of HVO100 across sport, entertainment, and logistics industries.”

We have already taken bold action to address our largest sources of emissions, with the use of alternative sustainable fuels contributing to significantly reducing our carbon footprint. Last year, pioneering investment in and the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel helped us save 21% of overall air travel emissions in 2022.

New sustainability exclusions in the sport’s Financial Regulations have unlocked opportunities for innovation in sustainability that were previously in conflict with on-track performance. This project is the team’s first to capitalise since the changes were approved, thanks to constructive cooperation between the FIA, Formula One and the ten teams. The use of biofuel in the team’s race trucks and race base generators would previously have been included in the Formula One cost cap. Removing this restriction has allowed us to take a significant step towards our ambition of achieving a fully-biofueled European season.

Datuk Sazali Hamzah, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of PETRONAS Downstream said: “As a progressive partner enriching lives for a sustainable future, we will continue to rise to the challenge in meeting the demands of today and the future. As Title and Technical Partner to the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, we are driving the change in support of Formula One’s aspiration of becoming Net Zero from factory to flag by 2030, achieved through on- and off-track initiatives. The accomplishment with the logistics team represents a milestone that will serve as a foundation for further work at Grand Prix events held outside Europe.”

“At PETRONAS, we place immense emphasis on innovation, and this is reflected in the work that we do in our research and technology labs. We have been actively experimenting with a proxy for Advanced Sustainable Fuel, with our goal to transition to a pilot testing phase by 2024 and 2025, leading to the fuel production in 2026,” he added.

Together with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1Team, PETRONAS is on-track to meet the technical challenges of the new 2026 Technical Regulations, which will have all cars powered by 100% Advanced Sustainable Fuels. This exciting endeavour presents a unique opportunity to showcase the potential of Advanced Sustainable Fuels in the gruelling F1 environment, which serves as the ultimate testbed before taking the learnings and innovation to everyday road users.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team said: “Formula One is the most well-known global sport in the world, so it is vital we can use our platform to pioneer change. We can no longer compromise on the impact we have on our planet, and we need to adapt to reduce our emissions. We are a team of innovators and have an ambition to be the world’s most sustainable sports team. Results like this show we are on the right track to achieving that milestone with sustainable fuels central to the team’s strategy to achieve Net Zero. This was a very complex project, and we extend our thanks to our Title and Technical Partner PETRONAS, and our logistical partners, who have worked so hard to deliver the results of this challenging yet rewarding project.”

1 Calculated using DEFRA 2023 WTT and TTW emissions factors for diesel and HVO 100.

2Calculated using the average MPG of trucks on HVO100 vs diesel, taken from our 2022 trial. READ MORE

Excerpt from Washington Post: New innovations are already in the race paddock. Gains made in battery technology and energy management will improve consumer electric vehicles, and advancements in biofuels may help cars transition away from fossil fuels to lessen the carbon footprint. READ MORE