GreenFuture

2/2017

Green lorries and trucks

9

Cheap heat from

ŠKO-ENERGO

ŠKODA AUTO commits CNG lorries and solar-drive trucks

Independent heating does not pay

off for Mladá Boleslav homes

CNG IN PRACTICE

Compared with cars with conventional

drive, trucks propelled by compressed

natural gas are characterised by substantially lower emission levels; in

test operation, they also scored points

thanks to the reduced cost of fuel. NOx

emissions dropped by between 80 and

90 percent, carbon monoxide (CO) emissions decreased by 90 percent in total. At

an average consumption of nearly 50 kg

of CNG per 100 kilometres, particulate

matter emissions are reduced by up to

95 percent, CO2 emissions by 25 percent.

Š

KODA AUTO logistics has deployed five

trucks propelled by compressed natural

gas, committed gigaliners for selected routes

and launched a pilot project for solar-drive

trucks. The measures implemented as part

of GreenLogistics are a critical part of the

GreenFuture ecological strategy. “Our social

corporate responsibility pays increasing attention, among other things, to the development of eco-friendly logistics solutions”, says

Michael Oeljeklaus, member of the ŠKODA

AUTO Board of Management for Production

and Logistics. “Trucks burning natural gas represent another step towards the company’s

sustainable development”, adds Oeljeklaus.

The two-month pilot projects from the turn

of 2015 and 2016, during which the company tested CNG trucks, has borne fruit, and so

the carmaker can now deploy four CNG-driven Scania tandem sets at the Mladá Boleslav

plant. These four will be driving in the production site, while another has been assigned to

a supplier company on the Mladá Boleslav–

Stráž nad Nisou route. The truck completes

the 120-km route 12 times a week and saves

up to 16 tonnes of CO2 every year.

GIGALINERS CAN CARRY MORE

Apart from compressed natural gas, ŠKODA

AUTO will also deploy so-called gigaliners

on selected routes. These LHVs (‘longer and

heavier vehicles’) are 25 m long and can carry

up to 150 m3 of load, which means 50 percent

more than an ordinary truck. As a result, the

carmaker will be able to cut down the number

of trips between Mladá Boleslav and Rokycany from 53 to 35, which means a reduction of

200 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year.

In the Mladá Boleslav plant ŠKODA AUTO

bets on local, emission-free, battery-powered means of transport. Within the pilot

project, one electric truck set with two trailers was also equipped with solar panels.

The photovoltaic modules are charged by

lead-acid batteries en route. Assuming that

the test operation proves beneficial, ŠKODA

AUTO Logistics will install photovoltaic solutions in more of these trucks.  RED

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More ecological car production

Consistent environmental protection comprises one of the main pillars of sustainable development

R

esponsibility to the environment influences the conduct of the whole ŠKODA

AUTO company – from design to production

to recycling. Over the past six years, we have

managed to improve the environmental impact of one produced car by 45.8 percent

compared with 2010. Key indicators influencing the environment are monitored and evaluated systematically. Based on the results,

the company continuously accepts improvement measures. For example, in car production, the main parameters that are under

careful scrutiny include energy and water

consumption, CO2 and VOC emissions, as well

as the volume of unusable waste.

USE WASTE, PREVENT WASTE

The area of waste management follows a

simple rule: Preventing waste is the preferred option over reusing it. Sticking to this

principle minimises the volume of generated waste (in particular, dangerous waste),

and if it cannot be reused any further, it is

ecologically liquidated. It is thanks to the

rigorous adherence to this rule that the volume of unused waste has been limited over

the past few years. Last year, its production

dropped to less than 7 kg per one produced

car, i.e. by half when compared with 2015.

CAREFULLY IN PRACTICE

As a practical example, we can highlight the

introduction of reusable washable cloths

in production shops, where quality requirements make this possible. The Vrchlabí plant

KEY INDICATORS

OF ECOLOGICAL PRODUCTION

2010

2016

Basis

Reality

vs 2010

Goal

2,18

1,58

27,7 %

CO2 emissions [kg/car]

1 070

526

50,8 %

55 %

Waste production [kg/car]

28,3

6,69

76,3 %

85 %

Water consumption [m3/car]

2,77

1,92

30,7 %

35 %

VOC emissions [kg/car]

2,76

1,56

43,5 %

45 %

533 405

775 538

45,4 %

he heat energy supplied by the

ŠKO-ENERGO company is the form

of central heating with the most advantageous price in the city. People in

Mladá Boleslav pay only 567 CZK incl.

VAT for one gigajoule (GJ), which is the

second-lowest rate in the region. This

is also substantially less than the average in the Czech Republic. The average

annual cost of heating one flat is approximately 15,100 CZK. That the prices of central heating in Mladá Boleslav

are indeed favourable was agreed to

by the representatives of ŠKO-ENERGO, the heat energy distributor CENTROTHERM and the SBD, BYTOS and

DOMOS housing co-operatives at their

January meeting, where they assessed

the heat supplies in 2016 and negotiated its price for this year. Not only

are the prices of the heat produced

by ŠKO-ENERGO below the country’s

average, but according to the expert

opinion published by Tibor Hrušovský,

an independent consultant in power engineering, they are lower than

individual sources of heating in houses. “Considering the stable low price of

the supplied heat, investments in other sources of heating do not pay off

for households in Mladá Boleslav”, says

Hrušovský.

The opinion on the cost-efficiency of the various types of heating in

residential houses and other buildings was provided in particular for the

sake of homeowners who are often

being persuaded by certain companies to invest in other heating sources

like heat pumps or solar and photovoltaic systems. “Not even in 20 years’

time will the investment in this system return to the owners of residential

houses in Mladá Boleslav”, comments

Hrušovský.  RED

30 %

Energy consumption [MWh/car]

Production [cars]

Improved environment

purchased and installed an evaporation facility that has allowed for a considerable reduction in the volume of oiled water generated.

In both cases, we have achieved a significant

decrease in the volume of dangerous waste.

WE RECYCLE WATER, TOO

The company also treats water carefully. In

particular, there is an effort to reuse it with

the help of technology. Last year, the volume of so-called recycled water reached 40

percent of the total consumption. The individual production sites use water from the

2018

T

ø 45,8 %

ø 50 %

Jizera, Běláý and Elbe Rivers. Drinking water comes from quality underground sources. Operation shops with the highest water

consumption include paint shops and cooling circuits. As a result of rational water

management, we were able to maintain last

year’s consumption at the 2015 level, even

though production and staff increased by

12 percent. With respect to the current figures achieved by energy efficient measures

and application by modern technologies, the

Board of Management set a new goal for

2018: 50 percent.  David Harazim

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PRICES OF HEAT ENERGY IN

TOWNS WITH BETWEEN 10,000

AND 50,000 INHABITANTS

Town with

central heating

Zábřeh

Kroměříž

Česká Lípa

Benešov

Mariánské Lázně

Litoměřice

Opava

Český Krumlov

Karlovy Vary

Kolín

Tábor

Strakonice

Blansko

Znojmo

Jablonec nad Nisou

Olomouc

Písek

Mladá Boleslav

Teplice

price in

CZK/GJ

762

716

700

696

678

663

663

634

632

632

628

621

619

616

612

589

584

567

553

Source: Association for district heating of the Czech

Republic, average price for central heating source