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    E-Mobility Goals! Finnish Ice Hockey League Committing to Driving Most Team Buses on Renewable Diesel

    Nov. 8, 2024
    Liiga, working with Neste, aims to reduce approximately 6,400 tons of CO2 equivalent, about the same as the annual carbon footprint of approximately 500 to 600 Finns.
    By kallerna - Own work, courtesy Wikimedia Commons
    672e91986ac4b7867384660d Nokia Arenan Avajaiset 2

    The elite professional league in hockey-mad Finland is going to drive most of its team buses on renewable diesel during this 2024-25 season.

    Liiga is partnering with biofuels producer Neste to use renewable diesel for bus transportation by a majority of league teams. Liiga aims to reduce a substantial part of its annual total emissions, approximately 6,400 tons of CO2 equivalent, about the same as the annual carbon footprint of approximately 500 to 600 Finns.

    Liiga is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from teams’ bus transportation by an average of 90 percent over the fuel’s life cycle as compared to fossil diesel, by utilizing Neste MY renewable diesel.

    Liiga teams' travel emissions, approximately 8 percent of Liiga's total emissions, are the fourth source of emissions after spectator travel (64 percent), arenas’ electricity consumption (17 percent), and arenas’ heating (11 percent).

    “Neste targets to help its customers reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 million tons annually by 2030,” said Joni Pihlstrom, Vice President, Marketing & Services at Neste, in a statement.

    The renewable diesel is available at about 190 Neste stations across Finland for the teams to refuel their buses. Historically an oil and refining company, Neste produces its renewable diesel—which has about the same energy density and combustion qualities as regular diesel—from vegetable oil refining production.

    The bus company transporting a Liiga team will use a team-specific customer number to accurately track emission reductions, while refueling the renewable diesel. This will not only help receive data on the refueling by the Neste MY carbon footprint reporting service but also enable Liiga to monitor fuel consumption by each team and report the overall GHG emission reduction achieved.

    “It is also important that we get comprehensive reports from Neste regarding the teams' travel, enabling us to further develop and improve our operations for future seasons,” said Vili Nurmi, Sales Director at Finnish National Ice Hockey League.

    Liiga, also known as the Finnish Elite League, was created nearly 50 years ago to replace the nation's amateur league. It now has 16 teams. 

    Many of Finland’s top hockey players have gone on to compete in the National Hockey League and are considered among the sport’s best players. The national team has won an Olympic gold medal and a couple of world championships.

     

    About the Author

    Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor | Senior Editor

    For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

    Rod Walton has spent 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

    He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.

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