From BBC
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BBC Climate & Science
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The UK government is investigating a fast-growing “green fuel” called HVO diesel amid claims of significant fraud, the BBC has learned.
HVO is increasingly popular as a transport fuel and for powering music festivals and its backers say it can curb carbon emissions by up to 90% as it can be made from waste materials like used cooking oil.
But industry whistleblowers told the BBC they believe large amounts of these materials are not waste but instead are virgin palm oil, which is being fraudulently relabelled.
And data analysed by the BBC and shared with the UK’s Department for Transport casts further doubt on one of the key ingredients in HVO, a material called palm sludge waste.
Europe used more of this waste in HVO and other biofuels in 2023 than it is thought possible for the world to produce.
In response to the BBC’s findings, the Department for Transport said they “take the concerns raised seriously and are working with stakeholders and international partners to gather further information”.
HVO, or hydrotreated vegetable oil, has been called something of a wonder-fuel in recent years as it can be used as 100% substitute for diesel reducing planet warming emissions.
UK consumption rocketed from 8 million litres in 2019 to about 699 million litres in 2024, according to provisional government figures.
Its green credentials rely heavily on the assumption that it is made from waste sources, particularly used cooking oil or the waste
