100% fuel Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) made from vegetable fats is now available for sale at the first gas station in Poland. For now, its price is shocking, and there will probably be a shortage of buyers. Either way, the ecological revolution is progressing.
The new fuel is hydrogenated vegetable oil (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) produced as synthetic diesel oil, which is produced without the use of fossil fuels. This sounds interesting and future-proof, after all, in addition to tractors, combines and other agricultural machines, the same fuel can be used by passenger cars, delivery vans and trucks, locomotives, power generators and construction machines.
HVO fuel should not be criticized straight away, because it is a very interesting bridge between combustion engines and something that is not yet fully known – maybe electric vehicles, maybe hydrogen vehicles, or maybe others, the important thing is that they are zero-emission. Perhaps thanks to HVO, which can reduce up to 90%. CO2 emissions, conventional engines will be able to remain in production a little longer? Many manufacturers of agricultural and construction machinery already declare that their engines are suitable for new generation fuel. Vehicles from brands such as Valtra (since 2018, the Finnish brand Neste is a pioneer of this technology), Claas and Deutz-Fahr are already filled with HVO fuel at the factory. Engine manufacturers such as Man Engines, Deutz AG, Liebherr, AGCO Power and JCB claim that new engines of all types are suitable for HVO use.
What is HVO?
Vegetable and even animal fats are used to produce HVO, so they may actually be garbage. However, it doesn’t look like Dr.’s DeLorean. Emmett Brown from the second part of “Back to the Future”, into which the mad scientist poured everything he could, as long as it was organic.
Production takes place in the sterile conditions of the refinery and is a slightly more complicated process. We can use many products to produce HVO, most of them come straight from the field, from farmers. But not necessarily from there, because in addition to corn, rapeseed or other plants, animal fat, waste from the food industry, including fish processing or cooking oil production, as well as recycled cooking oil (e.g. obtained from a frying plant, can also be used for production) deliveries in Poland will be made only once – at the end of September).
In short, HVO is renewable diesel, or green diesel, made from lipids such as vegetable oil, tallow, or used cooking oil. These lipids are composed of paraffinic hydrocarbons and produce a low-carbon fuel.
Creating HVO involves a two-step process known as hydrotreating. This is where the raw materials are saturated with hydrogen at high temperatures (over 300°C), and then, in a further stage, the chemical structure is changed to give it the desired fuel properties. The production of HVO is a strictly controlled process, ensuring the consistency required to obtain a high quality product meeting the EN15940 specification.
Anyone who remembers filling old diesels with rapeseed oil at a time when it was cheaper than diesel may have a good association, but it’s a completely different fuel and has a different smell. This time, there won’t be a 90’s chip bar smell behind the vehicle.
– Diesel engines are versatile and with a few modifications they can be powered by pure vegetable oil. Some farmers implemented such modifications years ago, while they were still encouraged by subsidies, and noticed one side effect – their machines smelled like an old fryer. However, HVO oil used instead of diesel smells more like traditional fuel. However, it emits less soot, particulate matter and nitrogen oxides during combustion, said Patrick Ahlbrand from Claas.
HVO at the station in Myszęcin
For the first time in Poland, HVO can be refueled directly from the Avia station distributor in Myszęcin, near Świebodzin, right next to the A2 motorway.
The fuel has been available since May and from the beginning it cost approximately PLN 9 per liter. So it’s not cheap.
It is also worth noting that HVO100, as it is marked at stations, is not suitable for older vehicles, and it can only be refueled in cars, tractors, trucks and other vehicles that are adapted to this type of fuel. These are usually new cars or at most a few years old.
Avia? What company is this?
Avia is a chain of independent gas stations from Switzerland, operating all over the world. The stations operate on a franchise basis and in Poland the Avia brand is operated by the Polish company Unimot. The operator of the Avia brand in Poland has been listed on the stock exchange since 2017, specializes in the wholesale of diesel oil and the distribution of other liquid fuels, also deals with photovoltaics (including under the AVIA Solar brand), and invests in further renewable energy sectors.
In April 2023, the Unimot Group finalized the acquisition of the assets of Lotos Terminale (currently UNIMOT Terminale), including 9 fuel terminals and two asphalt production plants. It is worth noting that Unimot also has the right to use the Avia brand in Ukraine.
Will there be a Polish HVO?
In 2021, Orlen announced that on September 30, 2021, the Company’s Supervisory Board consented to the construction of an HVO production unit at the plant in Płock.
The production capacity of the installation will be 300,000. tons per year of biodiesel or aviation biofuel. The total cost of the investment is estimated at approximately PLN 600 million. Completion of the investment and start of production were then planned for mid-2024.
