Waitrose launches cold-pressed biodiesel trials More news
7 November 2007Supermarket group Waitrose has announced that it will trial biodiesel derived from cold-pressed rapeseed oil with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its delivery vans.
The six-month trial will see the company modify five of its lorries to run on the fuel with a view to rolling the technology out across its fleet of 300 vehicles if it proves successful.
The company said that it had opted to trial cold-pressed rapeseed oil as opposed to conventionally-produced biodiesels - despite the engine and fuel tank modifications it would have to make - because of a cleaner production process and the fact that the fuel can be sourced from UK and German farms rather than further afield. A Waitrose spokeswoman indicated the company is acutely mindful of ensuring that the fuel's provenance is sustainable.
Waitrose said that cold-pressed rapeseed oil does not have to undergo a chemical process to change its molecular structure before it can be used to power vehicles and as a result it has a carbon footprint about 20 per cent lower than the production process for conventional biodiesels.
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