The trial is part of parent company SATS’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) group priorities and Heathrow’s goal for all airport vehicles to be zero-emission or using biofuels by 2030.
The trial initially involves two of WFS’s airside transport vehicles. Should it provide successful, WFS will begin increasing the use of biofuel across its fleet of 77 airside vehicles, which conduct approximately 130,000 truck movements a year at Heathrow in support of ten airline customers.
The biofuel provider for the trial is Airport Energy, part of WP Group.
“This trial will help us determine if biofuel is suitable for our operation and, if it is, we will move more vehicles over to HVO (hydrotreated or hydrogenated vegetable oil) over the next 12 months,” said Paul Carmody, WFS’ managing director UK Cargo. “As part of our close working relationship with Heathrow, we are committed to supporting the airport’s sustainability goals, and the use of cleaner biofuels is just one of the ways we aim to do this.”
In addition to this latest biofuel trial, WFS has commenced a transport fleet renewal and upgrade programme to meet new environmental standards. It is also preparing to trial an electric truck in its Heathrow transport operation and championing environmentally friendly driving standards by upskilling its driving team through increased training support and assessment.
WFS has already transitioned its airside vans from diesel to a fully electric fleet to support Heathrow Airport’s sustainability strategy ‘Heathrow 2.0’ and WFS’s own sustainability initiatives. Its airside fleet also meets the Euro 6 environmental standard, which limits harmful exhaust emissions and improve local air quality.
