HVO100 for construction equipment: decarbonise without idling your fleet

Construction under double pressure: green sites and local rules

Construction operations directors face pressure from two directions at once. On one side, public and private project owners now build carbon criteria into their tenders, with low-carbon site requirements that determine access to contracts. On the other, cities and certain regions are multiplying clean-site charters and local restrictions targeting the most polluting equipment.

This dual constraint lands at the worst possible time for a sector already managing tight deadlines, thin margins and an expensive-to-renew equipment fleet. Losing a tender because the fleet doesn't meet carbon criteria is no longer an option for companies that want to stay competitive. What's needed is a decarbonisation solution that adds no delay and no downtime cost on already-stretched sites.

Excavators, generators, cranes: constraints electrification cannot solve

Construction fleets stand out for their long service life: excavators, bulldozers, loaders and generators stay in operation for ten, fifteen, sometimes twenty years, running Tier 2 or Tier 3 engines never designed for new powertrains. Replacing an entire fleet represents an investment few companies can absorb on a short cycle, especially when contracts are won and lost over several years.

Operating conditions make it harder still. A site does not stop because it is minus ten in the mountains or over forty degrees under a tarp in summer: equipment must start and hold load in extreme conditions, often in remote areas without reliable grid access. Lifting cranes, site-office generators, compactors and tracked excavators run at power levels and load cycles that simply don't lend themselves to large-scale electrification on most sites.

HVO100, the only drop-in solution that fits the existing fleet

HVO100 is a drop-in fuel: it goes straight into the tank of any existing diesel engine, with no mechanical modification, no conversion kit, no workshop visit. That is the fundamental difference from any other decarbonisation path that requires a retrofit or new equipment purchase: a fifteen-year-old Tier 2 excavator runs with the same reliability as on fossil diesel, from the first fill-up.

Zero retrofit, zero downtime, zero capex: HVO100 decarbonises the fleet in place on the day it is delivered to the site.

In terms of emissions, HVO100 can cut lifecycle CO2 by up to 90% compared with fossil diesel, a level that directly meets low-carbon site tender criteria and can be documented for the project owner's carbon reporting. Unlike conventional FAME biodiesel, whose cold-weather performance is a known weakness, HVO100 retains excellent low-temperature properties, making it a reliable choice for winter sites at altitude or in continental climates. It also handles high heat and extended storage well, with better stability than first-generation biofuels, an advantage for site depots where tanks sit in place for months.

Organising on-site supply and CO2 traceability

The switch to HVO100 is organised like any other site fuel supply, with a few product-specific checks. Delivery can use a mobile tank or an existing fixed tank, provided it is cleaned beforehand if it has long held fossil diesel, to avoid mixing with residue.

• Check compatibility of existing tanks and pipework before the first fill
• Brief site teams on handling, with no special instructions beyond standard diesel practice
• Track volumes delivered per machine to document the CO2 reduction
• Keep the sustainability certificates and carbon statements provided with each delivery
• Include this documentation in low-carbon tender submission files

CO2 traceability is what turns a fuel delivery into a commercial argument: every HVO100 delivery should come with a sustainability certificate that lets you prove, contract by contract, the emissions reduction achieved to the project owner.

Take action on your own equipment fleet

HVO100 gives construction companies something no other option currently offers: immediate, measurable decarbonisation of the existing fleet, with no retrofit, no downtime and no trade-off between performance and compliance. It is a direct lever for securing access to low-carbon contracts and meeting local regulations, site after site.