Key outcomes:

• HVO100 provides equivalent or better fuel consumption, uptime and performance compared to mineral diesel oil in two Cleanaway heavy vehicles and has avoided the emission of 37 t CO2 so far.
• Customers, employees, and industry recognise the benefits of this renewable fuel and would like to see a roll out of low carbon liquid fuels at larger scale.
• Policies to support the uptake of low carbon liquid fuels have been announced by the federal government, which will be essential to level the playing field and drive increased market penetration.

For Cleanaway the pathway to decarbonisation won’t happen overnight but results from our on-road demonstration of HVO100 renewable diesel show the answer might be right under our nose.

In February 2024 we began operating two heavy collection vehicles from our Perry Road depot on HVO100 – a fossil fuel alternative made from renewable resources such as used cooking oil. The objective of the demonstration is to collect data about whether the vehicles which pull a 7-9 tonne payload on a 12+ hour day perform on the alternative fuel and whether it could be a scalable replacement for traditional fossil fuels to decarbonise our fleet.

Cleanaway CEO Mark Schubert said, “The use of HVO100 in Cleanaway trucks is part of our Blueprint 2030 strategy to reduce the carbon impact of our operations and increase circularity from the material we collect.

“We’re committed to leading our industry with innovative and fit for purpose solutions that align with our customers‘ goals while working towards federal emissions targets.”

The Neste MY renewable diesel used in our demonstration is exclusively attributed to used cooking oil feedstock and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 91% compared to landed fossil fuel across the lifecycle including extraction, transport, conversion and combustion. Neste is committed to 100% sustainably sourced renewable raw materials with a fully traceable supply chain to ensure trust and credibility, which supports Cleanaway’s commitment to high circularity, low carbon sustainable solutions.

Customers of Cleanaway’s used cooking oil collection business, Scanline, have taken notice and are satisfied to see their material is contributing to powering trucks. Scanline General Manager Mark Smith said, “Customers are seeing the sustainable reuse of their used cooking oil right here on the road, which creates added value and is an important differentiator for our business.”

What is HVO100?
HVO100 renewable diesel is hydrotreated vegetable oil made from renewable raw materials, such as used cooking oil. It is near chemically identical to mineral diesel which means it’s a “drop-in” replacement requiring no new infrastructure, fleet, or additional capital. HVO100 renewable diesel should not be confused with biodiesel, which is also manufactured from renewable raw materials but uses a different manufacturing process. The end-product of the biodiesel manufacturing process is chemically different to mineral diesel oil and has different physical properties. Therefore, biodiesel must be blended with mineral diesel (or HVO100). In Australia, diesel fuel for vehicle use must not contain more than 5% biodiesel.

Since the demonstration started in February, Cleanaway has been collecting data on our fleet’s performance, the impact on the supply chain and operations, and the cost model. These insights will help inform how governments, industry and other heavy vehicles operators can approach decarbonisation.

Pictured: Cleanaway vehicle next to HVO100 renewable diesel tank at Perry Road depot. Livery reads “This truck is powered by used cooking oil”.

Fuel consumption and emissions
Fuel consumption of both vehicles is summarised in the table below. For the frontlift organics truck we have observed a very similar performance between diesel and HVO100. In the sidelift truck, which has on average a much higher fuel consumption due to more frequent stopping, we have observed a lower consumption using HVO100.

The fuel consumption figures were confirmed by feedback from the drivers. For the frontlift organics truck, the driver did not notice any difference in refuelling frequency or power delivery. However, the sidelift truck driver noticed that the intervals between his refuelling had increased since the HVO100 demonstration began, indicating that he achieved more mileage from a full tank. This observation confirmed the fuel consumption data.
It is not yet clear what causes this lower consumption and why it is only observed in the sidelift vehicle. Cleanaway will monitor how this evolves throughout the demonstration.

Exhaust gases were analysed using a gas analyser to measure CO and CO2 concentrations from the exhaust pipe. Measurements on the sidelift truck showed equivalent results between HVO100 and diesel when idle and at 1,500 rpm. HVO100 is approved as a reportable emissions reduction solution by the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme (NGERS) and has negligible emissions from combustion as it is derived from renewable raw materials that have sequestered CO2 from the atmosphere when the biomass was grown. Based on the consumption figures in the table, the HVO100 demonstration has avoided a total of 37 t CO2 in the first three months of the demonstration across both trucks.

From a maintenance perspective, a fuel filter was extracted three months into the demonstration and it was noticeably cleaner compared to used filters from trucks running on mineral diesel.

Customer experience
Uptime and performance is essential for servicing Cleanaway’s customers.

Coles is one of two Cleanaway customers participating in the demonstration. “Our involvement in the trial of a Cleanaway truck powered by renewable fuel has been successful, with HVO100 currently completing 189 services per week across 72 of our stores in southeast Melbourne”, said Coles General Manager Sustainability, Brooke Donnelly. “This is an exciting opportunity to drive change in the industry and help to create a more sustainable future.”

Similarly, Cleanaway’s municipal customer, City of Casey, commented: “The City of Casey is proud to be part of Cleanaway’s HVO100 demonstration – using a lower carbon, diesel alternative to power one of Casey’s kerbside collection vehicles. We encourage our community to keep an eye out for the bright blue trucks operating on renewable fuel, attributed exclusively to used cooking oil. This emission reduction initiative is another step in the right direction in Council’s commitment towards zero net corporate emissions by 2030 in line with our Climate Action Plan.”

Operations
The local team supporting the demonstration has embraced this innovative approach to reducing carbon emissions – especially once they saw how well the vehicles performed. Cleanaway’s demonstration requires a dedicated refuelling system which is a change to process for the drivers. This approach also required a bespoke supply chain solution, which was supported by Cleanaway’s fuelling partner, Viva Energy, and increased the cost per litre.

Cost of HVO100 is a real challenge for scaling the program as renewable diesel is not currently attracting the same subsidies as other fuel types.

Government
Cleanaway is regularly engaging with the Fuel Quality team in the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on the trial. They are currently developing a paraffinic diesel standard to enable easier supply of renewable diesel in Australia. Cleanaway’s data on the performance of HVO100 in on-road trucks will support industry confidence in using the renewable diesel standard for Australia.

Cleanaway welcomes the support measures to drive the uptake of low carbon liquid fuels in Australia as part of the 2024-2025 budget, announced by the federal government.

• Investing $1.7 billion over the next decade in the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund, to support the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to commercialise net zero innovations including low carbon liquid fuels.
• $18.5 million over four years from 2024-25 to develop a certification scheme for low carbon liquid fuels, including Sustainable Aviation Fuels and renewable diesel, in the transport sector by expanding the Guarantee of Origin scheme.
• $1.5 million over two years from 2024-25 to undertake a regulatory impact analysis of the costs and benefits of introducing mandates or other demand-side measures for low carbon liquid fuels.
• The Government will be undertaking targeted consultation to identify options for production incentives to support the establishment of a made in Australia low carbon liquid fuel industry.

Conclusion
Cleanaway is committed to incremental decarbonisation across our fleet and we hope to lead the way for heavy vehicles across Australia by investing in new and emerging technologies. Cleanaway has purchased two green hydrogen trucks, anticipated to come online later in 2024 and we have a limited number of electric vehicles in our fleet. HVO100 is an opportunity to reduce emissions from the current fleet of 3500 operating on traditional diesel which have a 10-year lifespan.

Cleanaway’s demonstration is providing important data and real-world experience for the development of a low carbon liquid fuels industry in Australia. Bioenergy Australia CEO Shahana McKenzie said: “This demonstration has been essential in moving the dial on low carbon liquid fuels with government, industry and businesses in Australia. Cleanaway is providing credible evidence to support policy, funding and build confidence for Australian businesses as they consider their decarbonisation pathways. We are confident that this demonstration has had a positive impact on the Federal Governments recognition of low carbon fuels in the 2024/2025 budget and Transport and Infrastructure Net Zero Consultation Roadmap”.

For more information about the demonstration, FAQs and sales material, please visit: Renewable Fuel | Cleanaway