Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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199. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the way in which he intends to support the use of hydrotreated vegetable oil as a replacement fuel in the transport sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58464/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) is a bioliquid, which when used in the transport sector is referred to as a biofuel. HVO bioliquid is also used as renewable energy for heating and power generators.

Biofuels are a core transitional technology relied upon for the medium-term reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the road transport sector, accounting for 1.1MT CO2eq of the transport sector decarbonisation target to be achieved by 2030 under the Climate Action Plan. In 2021, approximately 246m litres (7.6 PJ) of biofuel, including HVO, was placed on the market.

The Renewable Fuel for Transport Policy Statement 2021 sets out the pathway to the achievement of Climate Action Plan (CAP21) targets and European obligations concerning sustainability and GHG reduction criteria for renewable energy in transport. The policy sets out that the renewable transport fuel blending obligation (RTFO) rate, provided for under Part 5A of the National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007, will be increased annually to achieve a blend of E10 (i.e., 10% bioethanol in petrol) and B20 (i.e., 20% biodiesel in diesel) by 2030. Additional supply of HVO will be critical in ensuring the B20 by 2030 target is met.

One of the key challenges for increasing the supply of biofuels, including HVO, is ensuring sustainability and availability. My department recently published a biofuel study report estimating the projected consumption of biodiesel, including HVO, of between 570-730m litres under a B20 by 2030 blending scenario. There is potential for indigenous production to scale up to between 435m and 735m litres of biodiesel/HVO in 2030, but with low recoverable feedstock supplies (potential for 70m litres of biodiesel from indigenous feedstock) reliance on imported feedstocks (UCO and tallow) will continue to be high.

Supply of UCO is limited and additional demand for it will impact on its cost and may heighten the risk of fuel fraud in global supply chains. To combat this the EU is introducing more rigorous verification requirements including an EU database for all biofuel supply. In this regard, my department engages with the European Commission on an ongoing basis, including through the working group on sustainability, set up under the Renewable Energy Directive.