BMW and Toyota have launched a six-month renewable fuel trial.

It’s designed to assess whether low-carbon gasoline can provide an immediate route to reducing emissions from combustion-engine vehicles.

As governments and manufacturers grapple with the challenge of meeting ambitious zero-emission transport targets, renewable fuels could help bridge the gap.

Joining the dots

A pilot scheme for renewable fuels is being delivered in partnership with Bosch and energy company Repsol.

It will see a fleet of unmodified BMW, Toyota and Lexus vehicles operate exclusively on renewable gasoline.

The project is intended to generate real-world evidence on the performance, scalability and emissions benefits of renewable fuels, while informing ongoing European policy discussions over the future role of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in the transition to net zero.

The trial comes at a pivotal moment for the automotive industry.

While the European Union has committed to ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035 (and 2030 in the UK), questions remain about how quickly consumers, charging infrastructure, and vehicle supply chains can support a complete transition to battery-electric vehicles.

Industry leaders have increasingly argued that renewable fuels could provide an important bridge between long-term zero-emission ambitions and the practical realities of decarbonising the existing vehicle fleet.

Growing clean

Renewable fuels are liquid fuels produced from sustainable, non-fossil feedstocks including agricultural and forestry residues, waste cooking oils, municipal waste and other renewable biomass.

Unlike conventional petrol, which releases carbon that has been locked underground for millions of years, renewable fuels recycle carbon that is already part of the contemporary carbon cycle.

While combustion still produces carbon dioxide at the exhaust pipe, the overall lifecycle emissions are significantly lower because the carbon emitted is largely offset by the carbon absorbed by the biomass used to produce the fuel.

As a result, renewable fuels are considered a low-carbon rather than zero-emission technology.

The fuels are engineered to meet the same technical specifications as conventional petrol, enabling them to be used in existing combustion engines without modification.

This “drop-in” compatibility allows drivers to refuel at existing service stations and use today’s vehicles, while reducing lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions and avoiding the need for new vehicle technologies or major infrastructure investment.

Fuelling the gap

Pascal Ruch, vice president of corporate and governmental affairs at Toyota Motor Europe, said renewable fuels should be viewed as a complementary solution rather than a competitor to electrification.

“We believe renewable fuels can play a key role alongside electrification in reducing CO2 emissions,” he said. “As the transition progresses, it is becoming clear that there is a growing risk that 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2035 may not be fully achieved.

“In such a scenario, renewable fuels can help bridge the gap to deliver carbon neutrality, especially when combined with hybrid and plug-in hybrid technologies. This pilot aims to demonstrate how renewable fuels can make a meaningful and sustainable contribution to decarbonisation today, for both new and existing vehicles.”

The participating vehicles will operate on Repsol’s Nexa 95 renewable gasoline, produced from Renewable Energy Directive (RED)-compliant feedstocks and designed to deliver substantial lifecycle greenhouse gas savings while remaining fully compatible with today’s petrol engines and fuel distribution infrastructure.

Cleaner not clean

Although renewable fuels reduce net greenhouse gas emissions, they do not eliminate exhaust emissions.

Vehicles continue to emit nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide and trace particulates during combustion, but these pollutants remain tightly controlled through modern engine technologies and mandatory emissions systems, including catalytic converters, gasoline particulate filters and onboard diagnostics.

The initiative also reflects a growing policy debate across Europe over technology neutrality.

The EU and Germany have already agreed that new combustion-engine vehicles may continue to be sold beyond 2035, provided they operate exclusively on CO2-neutral fuels.

In contrast, the UK Department for Transport has so far ruled out renewable fuels as an alternative compliance pathway to petrol and diesel vehicle phase-out targets.

Estíbaliz Pombo, deputy director of Energy Products at Repsol, said the project demonstrates the value of maintaining multiple decarbonisation pathways as Europe works towards climate neutrality.

“At Repsol, we believe every emissions-reduction solution has a role to play in decarbonising transport,” she said. “This project underscores how renewable fuels can expand consumer choice, offering another way to reduce carbon footprints using existing vehicles and infrastructure.”

Helping to grow change

Throughout the six-month programme, performance data and interim findings will be shared with European policymakers, industry stakeholders and media organisations.

The partners hope it will demonstrate whether renewable fuels can provide a practical, immediately deployable solution for lowering transport emissions, complementing electrification and helping bridge the gap between national zero-emission mandates and the real-world pace of achieving net-zero mobility.