Is Prema HVO environmentally sustainable?

This article explains what HVO is made from, why understanding this is the crucial prerequisite to sourcing environmentally sustainable HVO and details the steps involved within the Prema supply chain to guarantee that Prema HVO is environmentally sustainable.

It also gives a brief explanation of the various alternative fuels to Diesel in the marketplace to be aware of when sourcing greener alternatives to Diesel.

Under the bonnet of HVO...

HVO stands for Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil. Initially, only vegetable oil was hydrotreated to produce HVO, hence the name. Today, this is no longer entirely accurate, because a range of different types of oils are now used to produce HVO, including:

• Various non-food grade vegetable oils
• Oils coming from the paper, fish and slaughterhouse industries
• Used Cooking Oil.

Despite the wide range of possible feedstocks, the original term ‘HVO’ stuck because it was written into regulations, legislation and engine manufacturer approvals.

The important point is that not all HVOs are alike. The environmental sustainability of any HVO product is largely dependent on what it is made from. In simple terms:

• HVO made from vegetable oils is considered the least environmentally sustainable, because of land use change.
• HVO made from Used Cooking Oil and waste materials are considered the most environmentally sustainable. It does not cause land use change because it only utilises waste material. 

A crucial pre-requisite of sourcing truly environmentally sustainable HVO is understanding what it is actually made from and the chain of custody.

Prema can supply HVO derived entirely from used cooking oil and HVO derived from a mixture of feedstocks. We do not (and will never will!) supply HVO derived from Palm Oil.

Why we can guarantee Prema HVO is environmentally sustainable?

Below, I have detailed the steps involved within the supply chain that enables us to provide clients with absolute assurance that Prema HVO is environmentally sustainable.

These steps are necessary because, unfortunately, some HVOs and 'green' Diesels on the market are not as environmentally sustainable as they first suggest.

• All feedstocks and final fuel must, by UK law, adhere to the Renewable Energy Directive.
• Suppliers of these must be registered with an independent auditor. In the case of Prema HVO this is International Sustainability and Carbon Certificate ISCC.
• That auditor must audit (yearly) the supply chain and each tank.
• Feedstock transported for the manufacture of renewable fuel in Europe and the UK must be accompanied with a Proof of Sustainability document (POS)
• Manufacturers of fuel must be registered with an independent auditor and all production sites and individual raw material and finished product tanks audited on a product in vs out basis.
• As a receiver of Fuel, importers must first have the POS for the fuel imported approved by the department of transport.
• All sales must be verified independently and the results of the verification confirmed to the DfT. An ISCC Proof of Sustainability (POS) statement is received with each and every cargo of HVO that we supply - this states;
  • Production facility
  • Raw material origin and type
  • Supplier
  • Traceability
  • The full Well-to-Tank (WTT) carbon intensity of the fuel - including production and transportation emissions.
  • The GHG emission factor which can be used to report emission figures. 
• The cargoes are, naturally, received on top of previous HVO cargos into the import tank and depot tanks - with slightly different lifecycle GHG emissions.
• The Renewable Fuels Assurance Scheme (RFAS) effectively accounts for this ‘cocktail’.
• Prema Energy is a member of the Renewable Fuel Assurance scheme. This means that we must declare sales of our fuel, it’s feedstock credentials and carbon loading to both our customers and Zemo (the administrator of the scheme) quarterly. We are then independently verified on an annual basis.
• Essentially, should we supply you with HVO, we would, in turn, be able to provide you with a Renewable Fuels Assurance Scheme (RFAS) quarterly declaration - accurately stating the CO2e / litre of the fuel that you received in the previous quarter. 
• For belt and braces, you could take additional step of completing spot sample and tests of the physical fuel that you receive. This is to test what the fuel is actually made from (the 'feedstocks'). We would always recommend writing this into any tender / buying criteria. We offer companies this service via an independent lab. 

Under the bonnet of  other 'greener' alternatives to Diesel in the marketplace…

It is important to be clear on what fuel you are buying to fully understand the greenhouse gas emissions and the environmental sustainability of the fuel - so there is no risk of greenwashing backlash.

A range of drop-in replacement fuels to Diesel, often marketed as 'green' Diesels, are now in the UK marketplace; including HVO, GTL, mass-balanced Diesel and carbon-offset Diesel.

These can be used in 100% form or as blend components. Below, we have summarised these for you. 

GTL

GTL (gas-to-liquid) is a cleaner burning liquid fuel alternative to conventional fossil Diesel that provides; lower pollutant emissions and cleaner air,  it is fully interchangeable with conventional fossil Diesel. 

It meets EN 15940, the specification for paraffinic diesel fuels including HVO. As such, it is widely accepted by Original Engine Manufacturers (OEMs). It is also much cheaper than HVO. Should you be looking for a cleaner burning fuel than Diesel to reduce health-risks to your colleagues, at a lower pricing-level to HVO, then this could be good-fit for you.

But, it is important to note that GTL does not provide significant GHG emission savings vs Diesel - it is made from Gas. 

Mass-balanced Diesel 

Over the past years, the mass balance approach has been used in the chemical industry and is developing in the fuels industry. Alongside crude oil, bio-based feedstocks are used in the oil producing complex to produce Diesel. The physical segregation of the resulting bio derived Diesel and crude oil derived Diesel is not practically or economically feasible. The mass balance approach makes it possible to track the amount of the bio derived Diesel and attribute it to a respective amount of Diesel produced. 

Carbon offset Diesel

This is simply conventional Diesel with carbon offsetting - effectively participating in schemes that make GHG emissions reductions equivalent to the GHG emissions from the Diesel.