Hvo / xtl

[ear8dmg]

Just thought I'd put in a post regarding whether anyone is using HVO / XTL* in their diesel cars?

This isn't FAME biodiesel. It's technically a fossil-free paraffinic diesel made from (usually) waste vegetable oil made to BS EN 15940. Some manufacturers call it a kind of synthetic diesel.

Initial marketing from suppliers indicated this was sufficiently chemically similar to mineral diesel made to EN 590 to be a drop-in alternative with no modifications etc necessary. More info here: https://www.crownoil.co.uk/faq/hvo-fuel-faq/

There's been a bit of pushback from some manufacturers (who no doubt haven't spent the budget on approval testing). Nevertheless it's had approval in recent diesel engines from VAG, Stellantis (i.e Peugeot, Citroen, Vauxhall, Opel ect) as well as several heavier diesel engine applications.

Skoda Ireland recently had a joint campaign with Certa, giving drivers of new Skodas fuel vouchers to run on the stuff (and I believe temporarily paying for price parity of HVO with standard diesel). BMW have been supplying their cars with a first fill of HVO too. As such we're staring to see encouraging signs from mainstream manufacturers about its use.

Crown Oil (as the link above) claim a 90% reduction in net CO2 emissions compared to mineral diesel. BP claim 85% for theirs.

In the UK this is becoming available at some truck-stops for fleet drivers with fuel-cards.. It's still rare at fuel stations for personal use, but I've found a local oil company with a retail pump, currently sitting at about 10p per litre more than standard B7 diesel. For a 90% reduction in net CO2, that might be a difference I'm willing to pay for.

I'm considering running this in a Honda Civic Tourer 1.6 i-DTEC, which I believe has one of the most fuel efficient diesel engines available for a passenger car. It's not approved by Honda, but it's well out of warranty by now. It will be interesting to see how it runs.

So - have others taken the plunge on this type of fuel?

* i.e. Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) or Anything to Liquid (XTL)

[ear8dmg]

Well, an update. The supplier I was intending to buy from updated their pumps.

Rather than subsequently being marketed as 'HVO' or 'XTL' they rebranded the pump as 'Renewable Diesel' to EN590. There was a sign on the pump claiming it can be used in any diesel engine

I looked this up afterwards and found a couple of companies with details on their websites. One is here: https://www.eslfuels.com/products/ro...pecifications/

Still claiming a 90% net CO2 reduction compared to normal diesel - but certified to EN590 instead of EN15940. An interesting development perhaps.

Filled up and I seem to be getting better mpg (low single figures, perhaps less than 5%) than the winter blend EN590 B7 diesel from Esso I was using in the same car on comparable journeys, according to the trip computer.

About 1/4 of the way through my first renewable tank now.

[LDB]

Never heard of any of this prior to today but we aren't very much a diesel society and I'm not a diesel person at all. Thanks for sharing. It's interesting.

[shella01]

I enjoyed reading the article you shared—thank you for introducing me to it!

[ear8dmg]

Originally Posted by shella01

I enjoyed reading the article you shared—thank you for introducing me to it!

Using it seems to have gone well so far. I'd say about 70-80% of the fuel I've used has been Renewable Diesel to EN 590 (same base as HVO, but with additives to ensure it complies with the lubricity requirements of conventional EN590 diesel).

My best tank on Renewable has been 60.8 mpg (UK). Best tank on fossil diesel has been 61.4 mpg (UK). As such it's been close, and the driving conditions weren't identical. I'd say the difference is within margins of error.

It's still the case that I can only get this (most of the time) from one retail pump. There have been times their pump has been down and some longer trips away from home, hence more fossil diesel use than I would have liked.