Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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302. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department and or the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland provides grant-aid for the purchase of new hydrotreated vegetable oil powered vehicles. [30322/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Neither my Department nor the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland provide a grant-aid for the purchase of new hydrotreated vegetable oil powered vehicles. Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, or HVO, is a form of renewable diesel that can be used as a replacement fuel for fossil diesel. It is a drop-in fuel and, unlike conventional biodiesel, it can be blended at higher rates and is not limited to a 7% blend.

The biofuel obligation has been in place since 2010 and, since that time, increasing volumes of biofuels have been introduced to Ireland’s transport fuel supply through a biofuel blending obligation on fuel suppliers. The obligation ensures that a certain percentage (currently 13% by volume) of the motor fuel placed on the market comes from renewable sources, for example bioethanol and biodiesel. In 2020 alone, 239 million litres of biofuels replaced about 209 million litres of fossil fuels, avoiding approximately 520 KtCO2eq. GHG emissions.

Biofuels will remain a core transitional measure for medium-term reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in road transport. This is particularly so for hard to abate sectors such as heavy-duty vehicles, where alternative transport energy and technology are at early and varying stages of development. However, concerns exist regarding the source, production, traceability and sustainability of the feedstocks for biofuels. My Department is currently carrying out a study on the sustainability and availability of bio- and renewable fuels supply and demand in transport. This study will help to inform the development of the Renewable Fuels for Transport Policy over the coming years, with due regard to the ambitious domestic targets for renewable fuels in the Climate Action Plan and proposed future European obligations for renewable fuels.

I published the Renewable Fuels for Transport Policy Statement in November 2021. The Statement sets out a roadmap for the supply and use of renewable energy in transport to address Ireland’s national commitments under the Climate Action Plan 2021 and European obligations under the Renewable Energy Directive. It supports the actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in transport and increase the share of renewable fuels in the national Climate Action Plan 2021 and our international obligations, including the EU Renewable Energy Directive. The Policy proposes measures to achieve higher rates of biofuel blending in transport fuel supply annually to achieve the Climate Action Plan target of 10% bioethanol in petrol and 20% biodiesel in diesel by 2030.

In addition, the Renewable Fuel for Transport Policy aims to will further incentivise the supply of advanced renewable fuels such as biomethane and green hydrogen, and it reiterates the commitment to the highest standards of sustainability of biofuel supply from source. It is Government and EU policy to support the deployment of alternative fuels. This is reflected in the introduction of the Alternatively Fuelled Heavy-Duty Vehicle grant in March 2021, the Budget 2022 announcement of the expansion of the Accelerated Capital Allowance scheme for natural gas propelled vehicles and related equipment to include hydrogen vehicles and equipment, the roll-out of the CNG fuelling network and the provision of policy advice for projects looking at the development of green hydrogen projects.

In this context, the Alternatively Fuels Heavy-Duty Vehicle (AFHDV) Purchase Grant scheme supports the purchase of new large vans, trucks, buses and coaches. The Scheme, which is administered by TII, is intended to help bridge some of the difference in purchase price between conventional heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) and those powered by alternatively-fuelled power-trains that offer environmental benefits over standard diesel vehicle technologies, and that would not otherwise have been bought.

To accord with EU State Aid rules, grant levels under the Scheme are calculated as a percentage of the difference in price between a conventionally-fuelled diesel HDV and its alternatively-fuelled equivalent. Maximum grant levels for eligible vehicles depend on the size of the company or enterprise applying for the grant, and on the fuel-type of the vehicle that the applicant wishes to buy.

€3m was allocated to this scheme in 2021 and given the excellent response to the initiative, a further €3m was allocated this year.