The Stiller Group (Stiller) has just completed a six-month bio-diesel trial, which saw it run 19 Scanias on 100% soya-based bio-diesel. According to Stiller MD Ian Marshall the trial was a complete success, and proof that "you can run a truck on carbon-neutral fuel that only emits the CO2 that was absorbed from the atmosphere when the crops used to make it were growing".
He explains that the trucks were jointly monitored by both Stiller and Scania, and that neither engine reliability nor
performance were affected. There was, however, a minimal reduction in miles per gallon compared with regular diesel. A spokesman for UK-based D1 Oils, which supplied the B100 fuel, explains that this is normal. He says this loss in fuel economy is sometimes cancelled out by the cost of the fuel, which is generally slightly cheaper than regular diesel. Roger McCarthy, UK sales director for Scania Great Britain, says: "Scania diesel engines with unit injectors from the 4-Series onwards may be run on 100% EN14214-compliant FAME (fatty acid methyl ester), such as the soya-based bio-fuel used in this trial. "With interest in bio-fuels increasing in recent times, Scania is delighted to have been involved in this successful trial with Stiller Group and D1 Oils."
Although Stiller says it is keen to use more bio-fuel in the future, at the time of going to press there was nobody available to confirm whether this meant the scheme would now be extended to cover more of the fleet. D1
Oils CEO Elliot Mannis says: "The trial demonstrates the potential for the haulage industry to go beyond the UK's national 5% bio-fuel blend planned for 2010 under the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation."
