Birmingham Airport in UK celebrates successful renewable diesel trial

Photo: Birmingham Airport

Birmingham Airport (BHX) in the U.K. announced in October that it has completed a successful sustainable fuel trial in a significant milestone towards the airport’s ambition of becoming net zero by 2033.

The regional transport hub has been trialing the use of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), also known as renewable diesel, as a sustainable alternative to diesel in 32 works and grounds vehicles on-site to reduce vehicle emissions by nearly 90 percent.

Following the success of the trial, BHX is now set to expand use of the sustainable fuel to a range of vehicles across its site.

Produced entirely from renewable waste materials, HVO is a diesel-like biofuel that significantly limits excessive air pollution and reduces carbon emissions by 90 percent.

Several other U.K. airports have adopted HVO as a sustainable alternative to diesel due to its significant environmental advantages. 

The trial follows ongoing work at BHX to fully decarbonize operations and utilize renewable energy sources including the development of a £10 million (USD$13.4 million) airside solar farm that can power 100 percent of the terminal during peak conditions.

Following the implementation of an innovative mobile segregation unit (MSU) for waste management in 2024, the airport celebrated its most waste-efficient year on record in March.

“Since our initial net-zero pledge in 2019, we’ve been committed to exploring and implementing a variety of innovative solutions to reduce our carbon emissions and overall environmental impact,” said Tom Denton, the airport’s head of sustainability.

“HVO is a proven and effective alternative to diesel and this trial of biofuel in select on-site grounds vehicles is our next step in proactively tackling our operational carbon footprint,” he said.

James Gordon, the head of airfield infrastructure, added, “The success of the trial is a significant milestone in decarbonizing our airfield operations. Following this limited trial, we will be looking to expand the use of HVO to other vehicles on-site to further reduce our emissions alongside the delivery of other renewable energy-transition projects across the airfield.”