Leipzig, May 11, 2021 – In the most recent video podcast in the widely-circulated “DIESS TALKS” (in German: “DIESS SPRICHT”) series, Herbert Diess, the CEO of Volkswagen AG met with Claus Sauter, CEO of VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG in VERBIO AG’s biorefinery in Pinnow, Brandenburg.
In the one-to-one meeting with Herbert Diess, Claus Sauter provides an insight into VERBIO’s worldwide unique technology for manufacturing biofertiliser and biomethane from straw. He shows Volkswagen’s chief executive how VERBIO manufactures the BioCNG that is used to fuel the CNG heavy goods vehicles made by Volkswagen’s Scania brand. During the visit, Diess and Sauter discussed the potential that biomethane from straw offers for heavy goods vehicle transport.
“The complete electrification of our heavy goods vehicle fleet will take some time. Until the products and the necessary infrastructure are available, biofuels can help to reduce the emissions in commercial transport. I was excited to talk to Claus Sauter, one of Europe’s great visionaries in the area of climate-friendly technologies,” said Herbert Diess, summarising his VERBIO visit. (1)
By using biomethane made from straw, CNG trucks reduce CO2 emissions by 90 percent, which means that they are close to climate-neutral. “In Germany there is enough surplus straw from agriculture to fuel up to two thirds of heavy goods vehicles on an almost CO2-neutral basis using VERBIO technology. We are currently in the process of converting our own fleet, which consists of almost 100 trucks, to be wholly powered using this fuel,” explained Sauter. This inspired Herbert Diess, and he took a seat in a Scania truck at VERBIO’s production site. “VW’s subsidiary Traton has announced that every second Scania will be powered by electricity by 2030. I am convinced that by then every first Scania will be powered by BioCNG or BioLNG, and that diesel will be irrelevant. It was an interesting exchange, and I express my heartfelt thanks to Herbert Diess for this meeting,” concluded Claus Sauter.
The “DIESS SPRICHT” format is distributed using Volkswagens’ widely accessed media channels such as YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter, and each episode reaches several thousand viewers. In every episode, Herbert Diess meets with internal and external guests to discuss new technologies and future trends.
The new episode of “DIESS TALKS” with Claus Sauter is available at the following link:https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6797483705859350528/
(1) Source: LinkedIn