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Heating and plumbing materials supplier TG Lynes said the additional benefits of running two trucks on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) meant it is now considering introducing the green fuel to its other HGVs.

It began using HVO in two 18-tonne Euro-6 lorries last year, refuelled by a 10,000 litre tank installed at its Enfield base.

Transport supervisor John O’Connell said it knew its carbon emissions from the two HGVs would fall by around 90%, but the company had not appreciated how else the fuel would help the business.

The mpg of each vehicle has improved,” he said. “These Class 2 vehicles tend to do quite short journeys within the M25 with plenty of stopping and starting.

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“When we were using regular diesel the mpg averaged 11.5. During a similar month this year, with comparable journeys completed, it was 13mpg.”

O’Connell said: “Furthermore, lorries of this size need to use specific fuelling stations to re-fill with diesel. This takes planning and time. With our HVO tank on site, there is no queuing or forethought required – the fuel is waiting each morning, allowing us to get on with our deliveries.

“There’s also the benefit of fuel security. As we saw last year, fossil fuel disruption is not unheard of. Should the country face shortages again, we will have the benefit of a stable supply on site.

“It’s been a really positive test and we are considering rolling out HVO across other vehicles in the fleet – and perhaps, in time, across all of them.”