Rob Cavicchiolo, Carbon Solutions Sales Manager at Viva Energy, has mapped out dramatic shifts in supply, policy, certification and the commercial adoption of hydrogen and renewables over the past year.
Speaking at this week’s VTA Alternative Fuel Summit, Cavicchiolo said renewable fuels had arrived as a drop in solution for transport businesses looking to mitigate their emissions.
“People think renewable diesel is emerging slowly,” said Cavicchiolo said. “The reality is it’s accelerating and our customers are seeing that first-hand.”
He said the biggest transformation is the introduction of market-based emissions reporting, which allows operators to claim genuine Scope 1 reductions without needing the physical renewable diesel molecule delivered into their truck.
This mirrors the ‘book and claim’ model already used in aviation for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and is expected to unlock rapid commercial adoption across road transport.
Under the new Australian framework:
- Renewable diesel (HVO) is assigned an emissions intensity factor of zero CO₂-e.
- Fuel suppliers can inject renewable diesel into shared terminal infrastructure and allocate verified emissions certificates to operators lifting conventional diesel from the same gantry.
- The model is recognised under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme (NGER) and supports decarbonisation obligations under the safeguard mechanism.
“This is huge for transport,” said Cavicchiolo. “It means you don’t need a bespoke supply chain or dedicated tank farm. You can start decarbonising now.”
Viva Energy has renewable diesel available today in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth (via import supply chain).
Cavicchiolo called the assumption that supply is limited ‘outdated’, noting large-scale imports including a 10-million-litre shipment to fuel Rio Tinto operations and growing domestic demand from construction, mining, waste, logistics, defence and events sectors.
Cleanaway, Western Sydney Airport contractors, Whitehaven Coal and Formula 1 Australia have all used renewable diesel in neat or blended form.
Beyond carbon, Cavicchiolo highlighted reductions at the tailpipe in particulate matter, Nox, CO and CO₂.
These benefits are particularly relevant to fleets operating in tunnels, underground worksites or enclosed urban environments.
One of Viva Energy’s most forward-looking developments is co-processing, blending low-carbon feedstocks into the existing Geelong refinery.
Feedstocks under trial or supply include Used Cooking Oil (UCO), end-of-life tyre pyrolysis oil and plastic-derived pyrolysis oil.
These materials are processed alongside conventional crude to generate low-carbon diesel without major infrastructure upgrades.
Circular economy examples include:
- Taking tyre pyrolysis oil from industry partner Klean Industries, refining it into low-carbon diesel, and returning recovered carbon black to tyre manufacturers.
- Processing UCO from snack manufacturers into low-carbon diesel, then supplying emissions-credited fuel to their packaging suppliers.
While the refinery is currently capped at around 5.0 per cent co-processing capability, global precedents suggest this could scale to 30 per cent or more in coming years.
“This is how we build sovereign fuel capability without billion-dollar greenfield plants,” said Cavicchiolo.
He warned that renewable feedstocks are finite, and competition will intensify between aviation, marine, industrial and road sectors as mandates and emissions targets tighten.
“The aviation industry is already moving fast,” he said. “Transport operators need to be proactive or risk being out-competed for supply.”
New financial models, including Scope 3 emission certificate resale, already used by DHL and major airlines may soon emerge in road freight, allowing operators to recover decarbonisation costs via customer pass-through mechanisms.
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