A new fuel launched in the United States will change the markets for soybeans, derivatives and hydrocarbons, experts point out. The so-called HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) is made based on soybeans and is already in the experimental phase in the Baltic and Scandinavian countries, promising major changes in the world economy.

HVO, also called hydrotreated or hydrogenated oil and also hydrobiofuel, uses hydrogen instead of methanol – as is the case with biodiesel – for its catalysis. According to its developers, the new biofuel reduces carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles by 90%.

According to Gustavo Idígoras, president of the Chamber of the Petroleum Industry, the Argentine Republic and the Center for Cereal Exporters (Ciara-CEC), HVO is part of "the strong policy of state-of-the-art biofuels launched by the United States, which will replace fossil fuels and is based on renewable soybean oil."

Speaking to the Argentine portal Télam, the expert points out that the advance of this new fuel would have a particular impact on exports from the neighboring country. According to him, the threat of a fall in the price of soy products – one of the main products of Argentina's export basket – is real.

"This energy revolution in the United States is generating billions of dollars in investment," Idígoras said. In turn, a report by Agritrend director Gustavo López pointed out that in eight years global consumption of biofuels in general grew by 72%, with biodiesel increasing by 53% against 487% of HVO.

According to ciara-CEC, hvo "can be used 100%, without the need to cut it, because it is a complete and total substitute for mineral diesel". This means that once the new technology is fully tested, the United States will be able to replace the use of fossil fuels altogether.

In the hydrocarbon market, says the expert, prices would tend to decline as consumption of the world's main demand would fall. On the other hand, HVO may mean momentum for soybean producers, with increased production destined for industrialization.

Ivo Sarjanovic, investor and professor of agricultural commodities, is another enthusiast of the new soy-based fuel: "There is a renewable diesel, called HVO, that can almost entirely replace fossil diesel without any cut," he said in mid-July this year.

He said the United States is reconverting refineries to meet the demand for vegetable oils. He estimates that about 20 million tons of soybeans will be needed to meet this new demand.

Source: Agrolink