London’s Gatwick Airport claims to have cut carbon emissions from its diesel vehicles by 90% after swapping the fuel for hydrotreated vegetable oil or HVO. Gatwick says the move will save it more than 950 tonnes of carbon emissions a year.
HVO is a biofuel made from plant waste, oils, and fats – because the fuel source is recycled materials it is less damaging to the environment than conventional fuel.
A total of 300 diesel vehicles – 85% - of the airport’s fleet are now powered by HVO. They include fire engines, airside operations vehicles, long-stay car park buses, and snow ploughs. Once each vehicle is retired, it will be replaced by an electric vehicle.
Gatwick says an extensive trial concludes that using HVO had no impact on the performance of the vehicles, including the requirement that fire engines have the capacity to respond to call outs anywhere on the airfield within three minutes.
Steve Kelso, head of engineering, describes the initiative as “an exciting milestone for London Gatwick’s sustainability journey and a big step in our fleet transition”.
