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
|
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
|
|
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