According to Eisath, a key pillar has been the conversion of the fleet to HVO, especially for the snow groomers, which are the largest fuel consumers in the fleet. The trigger was their own CO₂ footprint assessment and the ambition to reduce CO₂ impact even further in harmony with nature, without taking technical risks. Carezza’s experience shows: trouble-free fleet operation, including approvals from the snow groomer manufacturers/suppliers. Modern Euro 6 engines are already designed and/or certified to run on modern fuels such as HVO100. More on this can also be found in a report by the vehicle manufacturer Prinoth.

And it doesn’t stop at a single lever. Carezza sees itself as a progressive operator that reassesses its approach every year and continuously refines measures—from e-mobility and e-bikes for employees to improving internal processes. The next major focus is autonomous energy production, especially through photovoltaics. For interested visitors to the region, Carezza Dolomites offers regular tech tours through the ski area in winter, where the technical systems are explained in detail.

Learn more about sustainability at Carezza here.

Interview: Florian Eisath, Carezza Dolomites

Florian Eisath, Managing Director of Carezza Dolomites, in an interview with eFUEL-TODAY

eFUEL-TODAY: Hi! Please introduce yourselves—or yourself—briefly!

Eisath: My name is Florian Eisath. I’m the Managing Director of the lifts at Carezza Dolomites – as the name suggests, in the beautiful Dolomites near Bolzano. We operate a ski and hiking area below Rosengarten and Latemar.

What makes the Carezza ski area special, and what role does sustainability play for you?

Eisath: What makes Carezza special – besides the incredibly beautiful nature – is our commitment to sustainability, especially holistic sustainability. In a mountain region like ours, ecological sustainability is very important, but so are the social and economic dimensions. By operating the lifts, we offer a high-quality experience, but of course it has to be in harmony with nature.

What was the specific trigger for switching your fleet to HVO?

Eisath: The specific trigger for switching our fleet to HVO was that we were looking for a way to reduce our CO₂ impact even further. We’ve been preparing a CO₂ footprint for years and were looking for additional approaches. In a conversation with a lift operator in Germany, Henrik Vollpert, I got the idea. He told me they were trying it on a test basis, and we immediately gathered information and started implementing it.

You don’t just use HVO in passenger cars—you also use it in snow groomers. What has your technical experience with HVO been like?

Eisath: We use HVO primarily for our snow groomers – and not just for our operational vehicles. The major consumption comes from the “little guys” in the background (Editor’s note eFUEL-TODAY: the snow groomers). Our experience has been spotless: we have had no problems at all, and we even have approvals from the manufacturers, meaning the suppliers of the snow groomers. The new generations all have Euro 6 engines; these are already designed and/or certified for HVO. We have the approvals and, from that perspective, no concerns.

Do you have further plans for the ski area’s sustainable future?

Eisath: Carezza Dolomites generally stands for progressive action and continuous development—always staying on top of things. That means we naturally have further plans for advancing sustainable operations. Every year we reassess ourselves, looking for smaller and larger measures to reduce CO₂—for example by promoting e-mobility or e-bikes for our employees, or by revising menus for our canteen. One area we are now strongly moving toward is autonomous energy production: we are developing strongly in the direction of photovoltaics.

Can interested visitors also see your technology and your facilities in practice and exchange ideas with you?

Eisath: Carezza Dolomites doesn’t just act—we’re also happy to talk about it. That’s why we’re very pleased when there are interested guests. For that, we offer regular tech tours through the ski area. Every Tuesday in winter you can sign up and then go on a tour with the President of Outdoor Operations—my father. He is one of the co-founders of TechnoAlpin, the world market leader in snowmaking systems, and very technically savvy—and anyone interested has this opportunity every Tuesday.

eFUEL-TODAY: Thank you very much for the interview!

Refuelling a snow groomer with HVO

Link Carezza Dolomites: https://carezza.it/de/bergbahnen/nachhaltigkeit/ganzheitlicher-nachhaltigkeitsprozess

Link vehicle manufacturer: https://www.prinoth-snowgroomers.com/de/news/gruene-loesungen-hvo-im-test

Images: © eFUEL-TODAY

Der Beitrag Sustainability in the ski resort: Carezza relies on HVO in its vehicle fleet erschien zuerst auf eFUEL-TODAY.

At the heart of the project is the conversion of the Hydrocracker unit (HDC2) to Ecofining technology, alongside the construction of a pre-treatment unit for waste- and residue-based feedstocks. The EIB lists used cooking oil, animal fats, and residues from the agri-food industry among the feedstock base—exactly the kind of material streams that are essential for credible and traceable biofuel supply chains.

Production is planned to start from 2028. Sannazzaro is expected to produce HVO diesel and SAF (“biojet”) with a capacity of around 550,000 tonnes per year. The project leverages existing infrastructure and utilities on site and complements conventional fuel production with dedicated biofuel capacity.

Why this matters strategically for Italy: beyond climate impact, the EIB explicitly highlights energy security and the role of expanding European biofuel capacity in the context of REPowerEU. At the same time, the move fits into Eni/Enilive’s strategy to significantly increase biofuel capacity by 2030, including SAF capacity.

eFUEL-TODAY perspective: for the existing vehicle fleet, HVO is a direct lever (drop-in, where approved), while SAF is currently the central available decarbonisation pathway for aviation. The Sannazzaro conversion is therefore a strong, industrial-policy relevant signal: Italy is actively building value creation and supply security for renewable molecules.

Source: www.eib.org

Image: © EIB

Der Beitrag EIB and Eni finance a new biorefinery in Sannazzaro: €500 million for HVO and SAF from 2028 erschien zuerst auf eFUEL-TODAY.