New era for renewable diesel (HVO) in Essex
September 4th, 2024
The use of renewable fuels like hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) to reduce carbon emissions from diesel trucks is gaining popularity, as businesses look for practical solutions while battery electric vehicles are still developing.
Major haulage companies and supermarket chains are switching to HVO, which is now seen as a clean and reliable alternative to diesel. This marks a big improvement from older biodiesel options, which often caused problems with algae and clogged fuel filters.
New Era, originally based in Stratford, East London, has expanded its business significantly. The company now handles over 250 million litres of fuel annually for both road and off-road use.
CEO James Hunt, who joined the company in 1997 when it mainly supplied lubricants, explains the shift: “We’ve focused more on fuel over the years. Back then, we had a small 5,000-litre tanker in Stratford. In 2004, after moving to Harlow, we started delivering red diesel to construction sites across London. As demand for fuel grew, so did our business.”
FORS Gold Accreditation
New Era has grown from one tanker to a large fleet and has achieved FORS Gold accreditation. Recognising its commitment to safety, reliability, and high-quality service.
“We practice what we preach, using HVO across our entire fleet,” continues Hunt. “We consume around 1 million litres of HVO annually as road fuel, which we’ve hedged for our fleet. This is a significant expense for the business, but it aligns with our core sustainability value. HVO is a premium product that provides an immediate CO2 reduction of up to 90%.
“We recognise the cost difference. If we ran our fleet on white diesel, especially with recent price drops, the company would benefit financially. But delivering a renewable product using fossil fuels would contradict our commitment to sustainability.”
It is this price premium over DERV that puts off many operators – especially hauliers who can often struggle to pass on higher costs to their customers – from using HVO. But by hedging, New Era can offer customers fixed price contracts a year or more ahead, making budgeting for fuel costs easier.
“Every New Era depot now stores HVO, resulting in the largest depot network of HVO within the UK,” says Hunt. “Since 2020, when we sold just 500,000 litres, we have made remarkable progress. This year, we are on track to distribute 60 million litres of HVO fuel.