(FINLAND)
Helsinki is driving forward with pioneering plans to run its public and commercial vehicles on biofuels.
The City of Helsinki’s commercial vehicles and Helsinki Region Transport (HSL) buses will move to using clean fuel by 2020, as part of the BioSata project. There are currently about 1400 busses on the HSL Helsinki route.
“Sustainably produced biofuels are playing a major role in reaching the emission targets of Helsinki Region Transport. The BioSata project could accelerate the transition from fossil fuels,” said Reijo Mäkinen, Project Director at HSL.
This major collaborative initiative also includes Stara, UPM, Neste, Teboil, St1, the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Employment, the Finnish Petroleum and Biofuels Association and the Technical Research Centre of Finland VTT.
Research Professor Nils-Olof Nylund of VTT, who will lead the project, said: “Taking into account the number and types of vehicles involved, such as buses, trucks and construction machinery, BioSata is Europe’s largest coordinated advanced biofuels project. The project will also involve follow-up measurements. These measurements will cover issues such as fuel performance, impacts on local emissions and energy efficiency, and maintenance needs.”
