Falmouth Harbour is now among the Harbours and Port Authorities in the UK using renewable HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) to fuel its fleet of workboats. 

A £50,000, 6,500 litre refuelling facility has been created at the Harbour’s Marine Hub with 50% match-funding from Cornwall Council’s Growth Hub Grants Programme.

The HVO fuel it provides is produced from renewable sources like used cooking oil and vegetable oils that absorb CO2 during plant growth. When burned, HVO releases the same CO2 it absorbed, creating a closed-loop cycle where there is no net increase in atmospheric CO2. This reduces the carbon emissions by 50-90% when compared with fossil fuel diesel.

HVO is being tested across the Falmouth Harbour work fleet including the new £1.6M state-of-the-art Pilot Boat Atlantic, designed and built by Holyhead Marine in North Wales to be one of the cleanest, safest, most fuel-efficient Pilot Boats in the UK.

Falmouth Harbour’s HVO suppliers, Mitchell & Webber, confirm the premium, renewable HVO fuel has a chemical structure almost identical to regular diesel which it can replace in many marine engines.

Falmouth Harbour CEO Miles Carden says, “We’re really pleased that HVO can be used as a part of a transition away from fossil fuels and we feel it is a good interim fuel to enable us to rapidly reduce Green House Gas emissions from our existing fleet of work vessels. We will continue to proactively explore future fuel options as technology progresses.”

The Growth Hub are proud to have supported Falmouth Harbour’s transition to renewable HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) fuel through our Net Zero Grants Programme, part of the Good Growth Programme which is delivering the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Cornwall Council’s portfolio holder for environment and climate change, Cllr Loic Rich, says, “Reducing our Carbon footprint is a key priority for Cornwall Council and I am delighted to see us using Good Growth funding to help make a real difference at one of our key ports. I hope that, by switching to HVO, Falmouth Harbour will be leading the way for others to follow towards a greener future.”