STIHL to Invest in Batteries, Inject E-Fuel Ideas
During its international press conference held Tuesday, April 25, STIHL announced plans to increase its lineup of battery-powered tools, which today account for 20 percent of the STIHL tools sold worldwide. By 2027, the manufacturer plans to increase that share to at least 35 percent, with a goal of 80 percent for 2035. “The aim is for STIHL to take on a leading position at the head of the battery-operated market,” said Michael Traub, Chairman of the Executive Board of STIHL. “To this end, our top priority in terms of investment lies in the development and production of innovative and powerful battery-operated products.” The key building blocks of advancing STIHL battery technology are green electricity, durable higher-performance batteries and chargers, and high-efficiency electric engines.
STIHL battery-operated products are currently manufactured at the STIHL locations in Austria and the United States. From 2024 on, STIHL will also start making battery-operated products at the site of the founding company in Waiblingen, Germany, and at its new production site in Oradea, Romania.
The STIHL AP battery power system, which features 36-volt lithium-ion battery technology engineered for professional-grade demands, has grown and now includes roughly 40 tools. The AK battery system from STIHL, engineered with non-commercial users and small businesses such as custodial services in mind, is also set to continue growing with new chainsaws, blowers, and hedge trimmers.
Aside from battery technology, STIHL is also investing in the advancement of combustion engines, particularly in terms of their sustainability. Traub explains the strategy, “We are consciously focusing on dual technological leadership. That’s because we align our actions systematically with the needs of our customers. Battery-powered tools are the future. At the same time, there are still many applications and regions of the world that require products powered by combustion engines. For those customers, we are developing visionary and environmentally friendly solutions.”
To do so, STIHL is focusing on biofuels and e-fuels. With MotoMix Eco, which the company developed in-house, STIHL has already launched a fuel containing 10 percent renewable raw materials, such as wood scraps from forestry and non-edible parts of plants. Compared with STIHL MotoMix, a conventional specialty fuel for two-stroke engines, MotoMix Eco helps reduce carbon emissions by at least 8 percent. Now STIHL is taking things a step further with e-fuels, synthetic fuels produced from green hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2) using wind energy that are virtually carbon-neutral. Because STIHL products are already e-fuel ready today, all STIHL tools with a combustion engine can be powered with these alternative, environmentally friendly fuels without technical alterations. Thanks to e-fuels, even 10- or 20-year-old chainsaws, as well as all other STIHL power tools, can be operated with virtually no carbon emissions. The reduction in carbon emissions from the use of products with a combustion engine has an immediate effect, without customers having to invest in new products. STIHL plans to achieve the widespread use of e-fuels in its tools starting in 2027.
