Off road engine manufacturers have all been keen to promote their engines as being quite capable of running on hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO), and reassuring users that its use does not invalidate or effect engine warranty.
Yet, the success of the fuel will depend upon its availability, and so its acceptance by motorists and commercial fleet operators will play a crucial role in its supply throughout the country.
A partnership between Certa and Skoda to promote HVO as a direct drop in replacement for mineral oil-based diesel fuel in cars is blossoming, as Certa doubles the number of outlets at which it is available and Skoda enjoys a boost in diesel car sales.
Three new outlets for HVO have been established at Maynooth in Co. Kildare, Dundrum in Dublin and Ballyhaunis in Co. Mayo.
Significant uptake of HVO
The first forecourt to offer the fuel in October of 2023 was Liffey Valley in Dublin which, over the last two months, has seen a 29% increase in sales.
Sales of Internal Combustion Engine (ICE)-powered cars themselves have also risen significantly during the first four months of 2024, with diesel power enjoying an 11% jump in April alone.
Škoda itself delivered 7,578 vehicles to customers, with a total of 58% of the brand’s sales being diesel-powered. This is a 30% increase on 2023 and means Škoda is the biggest supplier of diesel cars in the Irish market.
Yet the company, owned by Volkswagen, indicated that such consumer preference should be ignored and appears willing to promote the supposed banning of ICE-powered cars in 2035.
No ban on ICE cars
The major problem with this plan, is that no such ban has been passed by the EU. It was proposed, but Germany, and several other states, insisted that ICE-powered cars could still be sold provided they run only on climate neutral, or e-fuels.
Quite which fuels are to be considered e-fuels and how it is to be ensured that only they are used in vehicles produced from 2035 onwards is still a matter that is under discussion, but to suggest that the sale of ICE-powered cars is banned outright from that date, as Skoda do, is demonstrably incorrect.
HVO is distinguished at fuel pumps through the use of a pink nozzle, which stands out from the black diesel and green petrol ones.