Hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO) can lower a train’s carbon emissions by nearly 90% as against traditional red diesel. Tarmac and its rail freight partner DB Cargo UK have announced that construction materials delivery on a vital strategic route will be entirely powered by renewable fuel. Tarmac currently transports more than nine million tonnes of construction materials by rail across the country annually.
The partners will use eco-friendly HVO to fuel all freight trains operating between Tarmac’s site in Mountsorrel, Leicestershire, and its rail-fed asphalt plant in Birmingham. This move is part of an ongoing commitment to support the sustainable delivery of the UK’s infrastructure goals.
Synthetically produced through the hydro-treatment of vegetable oils or animal fats that help in the reduction of CO₂ and nitrogen oxide emissions, HVO is one of the greenest fuels available commercially. Previous trials by DB Cargo UK revealed that this fuel can reduce a train’s carbon emissions by nearly 90% as against traditional red diesel.
“Cleanly power”? NO! Will still emit CO2, directly and indirectly.
Significantly reduce emissions (directly and indirectly)? Yes. That’s the more accurate but less attractive headline.
90%? Depends on how you calculate it. May not be that much if you compare total emissions from source to consumption. And provenance of the oils/fats needs careful validation..waste byproducts may be OK, virgin biofuels are can be problematic in their production.
Not enough details in the article to analyse the claims or assess sourcing provenance.
Partial greenwash, especially since the goal is to transport mostly virgin roadbuilding materials that themselves are not the greenest and are not always used in a eco-aligned way.