BP Acquires 30% Stake in Green Biofuels to Boost Sustainable Diesel Alternatives

Fuel giant BP has acquired a 30 per cent stake in the UK’s largest producer of hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) as part of the firm’s efforts to replace diesel fuel with sustainable alternatives

City AM reports that the British multinational oil and gas company has invested in Green Biofuels (GBF), which has produced over 55 million litres of HVO products since 2020, and currently produces renewable feedstocks that include animal oils, vegetable oil, fat and HVO Gd+, a low-emission biofuel that can be used as a direct replacement for diesel.

Biofuels are produced with renewable resources, such as plants. There are two main types of biofuel, bioethanol and biodiesel. Both of these are man-made and emit fewer carbon emissions when burned than traditional fossil fuels.

BP has stated that it intends to support the decarbonisation of construction, freight, off-road and marine industries, rather than just everyday automotive applications.

All petrol and diesel fuels in the UK contains a certain percentage of biofuel. E10 petrol maintains 10 per cent ethanol, and E5 contains five per cent, but is it more expensive, while B7 diesel contains seven per cent biodiesel.

BP’s investment in Green Biofuels comes shortly after it announced that it had taken a stake in Gasrec, the biggest bio liquified natural gas (Bio-LNG) and bio compressed natural gas (Bio-CNG) firm in the UK’s heavy goods vehicle sector.

“BP’s investment will support GBF’s growth as it works with businesses looking to transition away from using traditional diesel fuel in their assets, such as transport vehicles, temporary generators and construction machinery,” a BP spokesperson said.

The firm added that HVOs have the potential to play a key role in supporting lifecycle emission reductions in a range of sectors, and can provide a commercially viable decarbonisation solution for fleet owners, construction companies, and vessel operators, as HVOs are a drop-in replacement fuel.

Meanwhile, to demonstrate this commercial decarbonisation, MJD, the road hauliers to Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) and many others, has announced that it is transitioning to an HVO GD+ supplied by Green Biofuels, across all its haulage operations in February.

The fuel will be used in MJD’s existing diesel engine trucks, with no modifications required, and is expected to cut carbon emissions by 17,000 metric tonnes of CO2e per year.

The move to biofuels follows the implementation of a programme by CCEP that encourages its third-party partners to transition to lower-carbon solutions.

CCEP led a 12-month collaboration between MJD and GBF. Following the trial, MJD signed a deal for six million litres per annum of GD+. MJD will completely switch out diesel in all of its logistics and haulage operations at no additional capital expenditure cost, according to Green Biofuels.

Magnus Hammick, chief operating officer of GBF, said: “After looking into a number of other options, CCEP and MJD have found a here-and-now solution in GD+. To achieve 2050 climate goals, decarbonisation has to start now using existing new technologies like GD+ which does not require any hardware changes to achieve 85 per cent emissions reductions.”

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