Fuel supplier Certa, which is part of DCC, said it has added Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) pumps at three more of its forecourts, which brings the total of HVO-ready Certa outlets to six.
Certa's new HVO-ready forecourts are located in Maynooth in Co Kildare, Dundrum in Dublin and Ballyhaunis in Co Mayo. They join the existing three in Liffey Valley in Dublin, Lee Tunnel in Cork and Trim in Co Meath.
The company plans to have four more forecourts HVO-ready by the end of this year.
Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil is a new second generation, low-carbon biofuel that serves as a direct replacement for regular diesel without any need for vehicle or engine modifications.
It is produced using waste plant-matter and hydrogen, which means it does not release any additional carbon emissions into the atmosphere and can result in a 90% net reduction in CO2 emissions.
Certa was the first energy operator in Ireland to open a fully-fledged HVO fuel station when it made the fuel available at the pumps in its forecourt in Liffey Valley in October of last year.
The latest expansion comes as the company partners with Škoda Ireland on a new joint campaign aimed at creating awareness of the benefits of using HVO as a replacement for diesel and encouraging existing owners and would-be buyers of new diesel cars to make the switch.
The Škoda and Certa awareness campaign was launched in March and included radio and online advertising. Sales of HVO at Certa's Liffey Valley forecourt in Dublin have risen by 29% in the last two months.
Certa said that HVO is distinguished at fuel pumps through the use of a pink nozzle, which stands out from the black diesel and green petrol ones.
HVO is expected to meet a large proportion of the increase in biofuel supply to decarbonise the transport sector here and is considered a vital transition fuel as electric powered vehicles continue to become more mainstream.
It can be used as a direct replacement for diesel in a wide variety of fleet, plant and machinery equipment in addition to passenger cars. It can also be mixed with diesel in any ratio.
The performance of diesel engines using HVO is near identical to when they are fuelled with diesel, Certa noted.
Orla Stevens, Managing Director of Certa, said the company's goal is to make it easy for motorists to transition to HVO as a renewable alternative to diesel.
"HVO's benefits are well-established, and we believe drivers of diesel cars will switch to using HVO if there are aware of it and are able to access it," Ms Stevens said.
