More and more snow groomers are on the move in a climate-neutral manner
Business
In ski areas between Vorarlberg, Tyrol and Salzburg, more and more synthetic diesel is being tested for the operation of snow groomers. According to experts, this is climate-friendly because it was made from hydrogenated vegetable oil. A fuel dealer in Salzburg is doing well.
For years, lifts and snow-making systems have mainly been operated with electricity from renewable energy sources. The slope preparation is still a weak point of the cable cars on the way to climate neutrality. According to information from the industry, around two thousand snow groomers are in use in Austria. Annual consumption is around 30 million liters of diesel.
Salzburg specialist dealers off to a good start
More and more companies are now testing the synthetically produced HVO fuel, says the Salzburg specialist retailer Franz Leikermoser: “We are the largest supplier to the cable car industry in Austria. There is a big project with the Gletscherbahn Kaprun and the Bergbahnen in Saalbach. Above all, there is also a project with the Planai-Hochwurzen in Schladming, plus Silvretta-Montafon in St. Gallenkirch and the Gletscherbahnen in the Ötztal. It’s already going in the right direction.”
CO2 from the air for manufacturing
Because of the altitude and the cold, HVO fuels are the only alternative for snow groomers, experts and pundits say. They only release the carbon dioxide that was extracted from the air when they were created. That is why they are 90 percent climate-neutral.