bp has acquired a 30-per-cent stake in Green Biofuels Ltd (GBF), the UK’s largest provider of low-emission hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO). 

GBF’s products are made from renewable feedstocks such as vegetable oils, animal oils and fat.  The product range includes HVO Gd+, a low emission advanced HVO fuel that can be used as a direct drop-in replacement for diesel.

bp’s investment will support GBF’s growth as it works with businesses looking to transition away from using traditional diesel fuel in their assets, such as transport vehicles, temporary generators and construction machinery. 

The investment in GBF will expand bp’s global biofuels portfolio and its lower carbon solutions for UK customers, in line with its strategic aim of growing its bioenergy businesses as it transitions to become an integrated energy company. 

 

HVO: Commercially viable decarbonisation option

Founded in 2013, GBF is the UK’s largest provider of HVO, having delivered over 55 million litres of HVO products to the UK market over the past two years. 

HVO Gd+, which includes GBF’s additives, can be used in diesel engines without the need for modifications or capital expenditure. 

HVOs have the potential to play an important part in supporting lifecycle emission reductions in many sectors, providing a commercially viable decarbonisation option for fleet owners, construction companies and vessel operators as HVOs are a drop-in replacement fuel.

By using HVO fuels, operators of diesel engines typically save lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by 87 per cent and additionally improve local air quality. 

In-field and controlled environment independent tests have shown that compared to standard diesel emissions, HVO Gd+, which is often made from waste products, achieves up to 85-per-cent reductions of particulates and up to 30-per-cent reductions of nitrogen oxides emissions.

bp’s expanding biofuels portfolio

“We are delighted to be working with Green Biofuels, who are at the forefront of HVO supply in the UK market, providing their customers with solutions to help them take steps to decarbonise today,” noted Sven Boss-Walker, SVP Refining & Products Trading at bp. “We look forward to supporting their continuing growth and working together on these immediately available alternatives. This investment further expands our biofuels portfolio, as we transition to become an integrated energy company,” he added.  

William Tebbit, CEO of Green Biofuels, said: “Our mission is to support the net zero energy transition by providing an immediate solution that makes a difference to carbon and air pollution emissions today. Our fuels provide businesses the time to transition to new technologies when they are proven both economically and operationally,” he advised. “We are proud to be partnering with a company like bp, which recognises the urgency of making positive changes now.”

This investment is another example of bp’s work to help decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors. In December 2021 bp announced it had taken a stake in Gasrec – the UK’s largest dual provider of bio-liquified natural gas (LNG) and bio-compressed natural gas (CNG) to the heavy goods vehicles industry.