Serious concerns have been raised over the green credentials of HVO fuel, writes Chris Tindall, after a study found a key ingredient for the renewable diesel is likely fraudulent.
Non-governmental organisation Transport & Environment (T&E) said nearly twice as much palm oil mill effluent (POME) – a residue of palm oil production – was being blended into European biofuels than is available globally.
HVO is seen as a key transition fuel for haulage operators getting to grips with a carbon zero future.
It can be used in most existing HGVs with minimum disruption and is said to deliver emissions savings of up to 90%.
POME is a watery sludge that is produced during palm oil production, but T&E said twice as much POME oil was consumed in European biofuels in 2023 than is estimated to be available around the world.
It said there was a concern that palm oil was entering Europe under a different name:
“It appears a lot of POME could be just palm oil in disguise,” said Cian Delaney, T&E campaign coordinator.
“This raises serious concerns as to whether this renewable diesel or HVO is as green as oil majors say it is.
“We need to remove the policy incentives that enable dodgy biofuels feedstocks making their way into Europe as supposedly sustainable fuels.”
T&E’s study came as a BBC investigation also found that virgin palm oil and other non-waste materials were often being used in HVO instead of waste sources.
Mike Nakrami, chief executive of e-fleet solutions provider VEV, said operators should ditch the idea of HVO and start electrifying their fleets:
“While HVO is often positioned as a green alternative to diesel, the recent BBC investigation highlights significant concerns about its sustainability at scale,” he said.
“The reality is that sustainable HVO supply is severely limited, despite its marketing as an eco-friendly fuel.
“The more fleets adopt HVO, the worse the environmental impact becomes as demand outstrips genuine waste oil availability and suppliers to turn to environmentally harmful virgin palm oil instead, while still marketing the fuel as sustainable.”
Nakrami acknowledged that there were viable use cases for HVO in vehicles that don’t yet have electric equivalents, but that van and HGV operators should move to EVs:
“With HVO also costing 10-20% more than conventional diesel, fleets should look to electrify where they can today, rather than delaying and increasing demand for unsustainable HVO, which has a major environmental impact,” he said.
“The only genuinely sustainable future for transport is electrification.”
The European Waste-based and Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), which represents major biofuel manufacturers in the EU and UK, said it did not represent HVO producers but that it believed there was “a major certification verification issue” with the fuel that needed to be addressed.
“We believe ISCC, the largest voluntary scheme in the EU, should do much more to ensure that non-EU biodiesel is really what it claims to be,” said a EWABA spokesman.
“EU producers are at a clear disadvantage when it comes to competing with non-EU producers whose certification verification is doubtful.
“Rules that apply to domestic producers should be enforced just as strictly outside of the EU, for biofuels used on the EU market.”
The ISCC, which administers an independent system of certification in which producers must show where they get their raw materials from, said it had worked closely with the European Commission on an action plan of further measures to strengthen certification.
It said: “These measures go beyond requirements from the EC recognition and were positively acknowledged [at a recent meeting].
“Our collaboration with the EC remains constructive, with both parties committed to restoring market confidence.
“ISCC is confident that it will continue to provide the highest-level certification scheme, and at the same time is committed to implement whatever it takes to further strengthen the scheme in particular in high-risk value chains with special policy incentives.”
A Department for Transport (DfT) spokeswoman said: “We take the concerns raised seriously and are working with stakeholders and international partners to gather further information.
“Fuel regulated under our schemes is subject to robust checks. If evidence of fraud or non-compliance is found we have powers to withhold or revoke certificates, issue civil penalties and, where appropriate, refer the matter to the relevant authorities.”
The Renewable Transport Fuel Association said it was supportive of the DfT’s efforts to investigate any fraudulent activity: “Our industry – the UK renewable fuels industry – is rightly proud of our high standards of traceability and sustainability, and anything that tarnishes our image, by association, should be rooted out,” said a spokesperson.
“DfT has recently updated its guidance to allow it to make fuller investigations of supply chains where the origins of the feedstocks may be unclear.
“Whilst this may add additional administration for some supply chains, it is worth it to ensure only genuinely sustainable biofuels are supplied in the UK.”
