THE use of renewable biofuel HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) has been tipped to double in the UK over the next 5-7 years.
Switching from diesel to HVO can dramatically reduce carbon emissions in construction machinery and help businesses win contracts where sustainability credentials form an important part of the tendering process.
Andy Scott, liquid renewables manager and HVO expert at market leader Certas Energy, spoke to Project Plant during PlantWorx 2025, where the firm was exhibiting as part of the event’s Site Sustainability Showcase.
Andy revealed the main benefit of HVO is that it can ‘instantaneously’ reduce CO2 emissions in vehicles and machinery by up to 90%.
“One of the key things is you don’t need to change your infrastructure,” he said. “A lot of companies here today (at PlantWorx) have got diesel tanks. For them to switch to an electric truck or an electric excavator, you’re talking a considerable amount of money. With HVO, it’s a drop-in fuel, so if you have a diesel tank and you’re asked to reduce your carbon emissions, all you need to do is swap an element or all of your diesel for HVO.
“What we’re finding is a lot of companies want to get on that journey, but potentially price may be an issue. What they’re doing is setting goals, so this year they may target to reduce their CO2 footprint by 10%. In theory, all they need to do is remove 10% of their diesel and replace it with 10% of HVO, give or take.”
Certas Energy is the largest independent distributor of fuels and lubricants in the UK, with 90 depots strategically located around the country, 28 of which stock HVO. The business also provides ‘bunker’ solutions for people who aren’t able to have fuel tanks on site. Individuals on the road can simply use HVO fuel cards to fill up.
While sustainability is the main selling point, other benefits of HVO include a much longer shelf-life than diesel (around 8-10 years) and the fact it is odourless.
Furthermore, Andy said there is no adverse impact on the performance of machinery and the fuel also performs well in cold temperatures, as evidenced by the RRS Sir David Attenborough research ship utilising HVO to power its mission to Antarctica.
Certas Energy has been pushing HVO as an alternative fuel in construction machinery in the UK for the last three years, during which time Andy has noticed a major shift in attitude from sector professionals when it comes to embracing more sustainable solutions.
“With the construction industry, several years ago when they were tendering for work the sustainability side of things was relatively quite small,” Andy added. “It was predominantly price, service, (and then) sustainability and maybe a few other things. Now the sustainability side is probably 10% or 15%, if not 20%, weight when they’re bidding for work.
“You’ve got all your major housebuilders saying to their civil contractors: ‘if you want to work on our site, you have to use (sustainable machines)’. Some are going electric but for many of them, to hit that goal very quickly, they are switching to HVO.”
Andy revealed approximately 700 million litres of HVO is currently sold in the UK annually. This compares with 20 billion litres of diesel. While the HVO percentage remains relatively small, it is growing. Andy expects that 700 million figure to double in the next 5-7 years.
In Scotland, the fuel has seen particular traction in sectors such as haulage and water. There are a number of emerging markets for HVO, including marine. Certas Energy was the official fuel supplier for the Tall Ships Races event in Aberdeen earlier this summer, where it offered both MGO (Marine Gas Oil) and HVO to refuel the more than 50 ships arriving in port.
When it comes to accelerating adoption of HVO within construction, Andy stated there is still a long way to go regarding educating people of the benefits. He cited his attendance at seminars where panel session Q&As have highlighted a lack of understanding among some people of even basic factors such as the fact HVO is a drop-in replacement.
“Diesel’s been around for as long as I can remember. HVO has only been around three or four years. For me, it needs to be advertised a little bit more. The opportunity is massive.
“In terms of challenges, I’m not going to shy away from it – cost at the moment is a little bit of a gap. Everyone wants to do it but not everybody can afford to do it. However, we’ve got ways we can get around that. If you haven’t got a tank to put HVO in, we can provide one. If you can’t go from 100% diesel to 100% HVO, you don’t have to. Why don’t you take 90% diesel and 10% HVO, because then if you look at the average weighting of the price, the gap isn’t that big.
“We’ve got the tools, the tanks, the mass balancing of the overall price. You tell us how much you need to reduce your CO2 by and how much you’re prepared to pay, and we’ll work out what we can do. We have an online calculator now that does it for you.”
Certas Energy announced major updates to its free online fuel calculator during PlantWorx 2025, designed to help companies make data-driven informed decisions on fuel needs.
The HVO Carbon Savings Calculator is now equipped with 2025 data from the department for energy security & net zero. The update aims to provide more informative, real-time simulations of carbon emissions savings for construction businesses that are based on the latest government figures.
Certas Energy said the calculator should be used in tandem with the HVO & Diesel Balancing Calculator, described as an ‘industry-first’ digital tool that provides a full breakdown of the overall cost of a blended fuel mix, which helps businesses understand the financial implications of integrating diesel and HVO.
“We’ve already seen many of our customers make impressive carbon savings on their journey to net zero,” Andy commented. “By putting real-time data directly into their hands, tailored to their specific business needs, we aim to give them clarity and confidence. Our partners can see exactly what they stand to gain in terms of emissions reductions which makes the path to decarbonisation more tangible, achievable, and transparent.”
