FedEx Express Europe is trialling a hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) biofuel diesel to power five of its UK trucks.
The move will see the UK become the first part of the company’s international network to trial the use of renewable 100% HVO fuel.
HVO acts like diesel and is made from vegetable or animal fats which are processed using a specialist hydro treatment.
It comes after the company trialled renewable diesel to fuel heavyweight, long distance vehicles in the Netherlands earlier this year; the company plans to transition to a fully electric fleet by 2040.
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“Using synthetically-made diesel offers an interim solution with the promising ability to drive down ‘well-to-wheel’ carbon emissions by as much as 80-90% per litre,” said FedEx Express Europe fleet maintenance managing director Louise Whitehouse.
She added: “It means that while other technological solutions are still being developed to help the industry transition away from using fossil fuels altogether, we can already make the decision to influence and reduce our scope one carbon emissions in our linehaul truck network – those generated by our own vehicles”.
Furniture brand Dunelm also recently began using BIO-CNG, which is a type of renewable fuel generated from the decomposition of food and animal waste, in nine new trucks – which the retailer said led to an 85% reduction in emissions.
Waitrose has also piloted the use of biomethane based fuel to power tractors on its Leckford estate in Hampshire, with the aim of converting all of its trucks to biofuel by 2028.
Whilst biofuels, like biomethane fuel and HVO, are not entirely carbon neutral, they produce less emissions than conventional fuels and can help businesses reduce their carbon footprint.
