Greater Manchester-based Crown Oil has invested £4million in biofuel as it attempts to shift customers’ demand from diesel and gas oil to environmentally friendly vegetable oil.
The oil company, headquartered in Bury, has pledged its commitment to the environment as one of the only UK fuel suppliers that can supply the synthetic premium biofuel in any quantity, within the same delivery times as its other products.
The carbon-neutral, renewable and sustainable biofuel can be used as a drop-in replacement for regular diesel and gas oil and has been approved for use in vehicles from manufacturers including Scania, Caterpillar, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz. The HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) biofuel, which can be used without making modifications to an engine, reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90% when compared to regular diesel.
Managing director Matthew Greensmith said the investment demonstrated Crown Oil’s pledge to support customers in reducing their emissions.
He said: “We are always looking to reduce our footprint in every way we can and we’re aware that the current supply of biofuels cannot sustainably match that of fossil fuels in a large economy such as the UK.
“At Crown Oil we believe renewable sources are part of the solution to the current climate crisis, and we want to encourage businesses to switch to this versatile fuel. For that reason, we have invested in an industrial-sized supply of HVO fuel, as we expect demand for greener fuels to increase as businesses become more environmentally conscious and we want to be able to cater to that demand.”
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that the UK consumed the equivalent of 35.21 million tonnes of gas oil and road diesel1 in 2017. For every tonne of fuel used, 2.6 tonnes of CO2 are produced, resulting in a total of 95.95 million tonnes of CO2 being released into the atmosphere.
With the government setting a 2050 net zero target, Mr Greensmith said businesses should consider switching over to biofuel now, but said more should be done to encourage the move.
He said: “We call on the government to look at sufficient incentives for businesses and domestic customers to use biofuels, as aside from environmental concerns, there is little reason to choose renewable fuels. What’s more, if business want their fuel supply to be environmentally friendly, a premium on biofuel price is unavoidable.
“Currently, we are the only supplier in the UK that can supply customers with HVO biofuel in any quantity they require, directly to their site in the same lead time as all of our other fuels.”
