Agora Fact Check: HVO100 Has No Additional Climate Protection Effect

The purely biological diesel fuel HVO100, approved for sale at gas stations since the end of May, currently offers no additional CO2 savings for the transport sector compared to HVO blending. The savings potential will remain limited in the future because the supply of raw materials such as used cooking oils from the food service industry, like used frying fat, or animal waste from the food industry can hardly be expanded. The raw materials are also more urgently needed in aviation, and a business model in freight transport could temporarily be conceivable. This is according to a fact check by the think tank Agora Verkehrswende. HVO is based on oils and fats that are processed into fuels in combination with hydrogen. Mineral oil companies can use this to meet their legal obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Before the approval of HVO100, which consists of 100 percent HVO, the biofuel was already being blended with conventional diesel. In 2022, the HVO blend in Germany was about two percent of the diesel sold, although up to 26 percent was allowed. According to Agora Verkehrswende, little more can be expected with the available raw materials. Therefore, it makes no difference for the CO2 balance in the transport sector whether HVO is blended or used in its pure form. While the resources would be used differently with HVO100, no more fossil diesel would be replaced in total, and thus no more CO2 would be saved.

 

Environmental Risks from Incorrectly Declared Raw Materials

HVO stands for "hydrotreated vegetable oils." In practice, raw materials of animal origin can also be used. If only residual and waste materials are utilized, CO2 savings of up to 90 percent compared to fossil diesel are possible under optimal conditions. When processing oils from food and feed or from plants specially grown for energy production, the savings are significantly lower. Some HVO imports are also suspected of being incorrectly declared. Palm oil is said to have been designated on a large scale in Asia as palm oil mill effluent, processed into HVO, and exported as a supposedly particularly climate-friendly "advanced biofuel," among other places to Europe. Investigations into this are ongoing. Due to the environmental and ecological damage from industrial palm oil cultivation, HVO from palm oil is not considered a contribution to climate protection in the European Union.