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As the future for kerosene dims could biofuel heating ignite ?
WITH THE DRIVE TO REDUCE THE USE OF FOSSIL FUELS IN HOME-HEATING TO MEET AMBITIOUS UK EMISSIONS TARGETS WE HEAR FROM ANDREW DOBSON , DIGITAL MARKETING CO-ORDINATOR OF TUFFA UK , WHO SHARES WITH US THE COMPANY ’ S BELIEF THAT HVO IS A VIABLE AND SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE TO KEROSENE GIVEN THAT ITS EMISSION LEVELS RIVAL THE EMISSIONS OF MODERN RENEWABLE HEATING TECHNOLOGIES .
Kerosene is used to heat around 1.5 million UK homes but , with the UK ’ s aim to achieve netzero emissions by 2050 , the future of heating oil as we know it seems dim . The government ’ s ‘ Clean Growth Strategy ’ ( 2017 ) outlined plans to phase out the installation of high carbon fossil fuel heating in new and existing homes currently off the gas grid . Subsequently , the ‘ Future Homes Standard ’ ( 2019 ) proposed that all new buildings from 2025 will need to be future-proofed with low carbon heating and world-leading levels of energy efficiency . These homes are expected to produce 75-80 % lower carbon emissions compared to current levels . While this doesn ’ t exclude liquid fuels altogether , the oil would need considerable mitigating measures to reach parity with modern low-emission alternatives . The next 15 years will see a gradual move away from fossil fuel burners as outlined in the ‘ Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution ’ ( 2020 ).
The case for HVO As a biofuel with CO2 levels on-par with modern heating technologies , Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil ( HVO ) should be seen as a “ considerable mitigating measure ”. HVO is also a fossil-free , sustainably produced , renewable paraffin deriving from used cooking oil and vegetable oil processing waste and acts as a direct ‘ drop-in ’ replacement to kerosene in oil burners . Critically , carbon emissions from using HVO shows nearly 90 % reduction in CO2 emissions compared to kerosene . If all 1.5 million households switched to 100 % HVO then UK oil burners ’ CO2 emissions would drop from 10 million tonnes to 1.17 million tonnes annually .
Currently , HVO is largely being used and marketed in the UK as a biodiesel . However , a variety of feasible biofuels and heavy investment into Electrical Vehicle ( EV ) technology means numerous eco-friendly technologies could compete within the industry . The sheer quantity of HVO required to fuel road transport begs the question as to whether supply will meet demand within the sector . In the UK alone the transport sector typically
Tuffa oil tank installed in one of 1.5 million homes heated by kerosene
consumes over 36 million tonnes of oil annually . Current global production of HVO is over 5 million tonnes although the International Energy Agency forecasts an increase to around 13 million tonnes by 2024 – still less than 10 % of the total predicted quantity of biofuel produced . The aviation industry could also contend for a share of available HVO . Aviation is severely limited in what is physically possible and safe to be used commercially in time for netzero 2050 . Reportedly , there is no possibility of passenger planes flying without liquid fuel in the near future and HVO is one of very few biofuels suitable for aviation . In 2017 the International Civil Aviation Organization announced the vision of using a 50 % blend of biofuel from 2050 – a feat that would require more than 3.5 times the amount of all biofuels then produced worldwide . Comparatively , very little HVO is required to provide the basic necessity of heating UK homes with a 100 % HVO fuel requiring around 3 million tonnes .
Clean heat at a lower cost In 2015 domestic and commercial heating accounted for a considerable proportion of UK greenhouse gas emissions at 32 % and is a top priority on the path to net-zero . Recent initiatives to incentivise low carbon heating technologies , such as air source heat pumps and biomass boilers , have shown a poor uptake across the UK with some of the heating solutions backed by the government simply not suited to all off-grid homes or homeowners ’ budgets . Costs to replace oil burners with heat pumps or biomass usually exceed £ 10,000 . Even with a £ 4,000 grant , a large proportion of off-grid homeowners are on low to medium income and don ’ t have access to the requisite £ 6,000 capital , never mind approximately £ 15,000 needed to bring more than half of oil-heated homes up to EPC ‘ C ’ – the minimum required energy efficiency rating for these lowtemperature technologies to work effectively . Interestingly the ‘ Ten Point Plan ’ identifies the need to “ avoid the need for costly retrofit ” in new homes but fails to constructively address the expense of retrofitting existing homes .
Comparatively , adaptations to make existing boilers compatible with HVO are expected to cost around £ 300-600 and existing oil tanks are already compatible with the fuel . Additionally , with a heat output matching kerosene , poorly insulated homes won ’ t require expensive retrofitting to work effectively , although any additional insulation will reduce the quantity of HVO required . The liquid fuel sector is now planning on making a 100 % HVO biofuel available by 2025 with proposals to move to an HVO-kerosene blend ( likely between 10-30 % HVO ) within the next year .
What is now needed to drive innovation and investment in this sector is support from the government in acknowledging and incentivising HVO as a pragmatic low-carbon heating solution , passing the savings of what should be a tax-efficient fossil-free fuel to the end-user . The liquid fuel market has the potential to expand across the UK , safeguarding and increasing sustainable job opportunity within the sector by better competing with other well advocated renewable heating technologies , giving off-grid homeowners greater choice and a more realistic solution to change their fuel source without the need for disruptive and costly installs .
Fuel Oil News | March 2021 13