On Tuesday, January 17, at the SNCF Technicentre in Granville, Jean-Baptiste Gastinne, Vice-President of the Normandy Region in charge of transport, Grégoire Forgeot d’Arc, Regional Director of the Normandie Lines at SNCF Voyageurs, and Claire Duhamel, Managing Director of Oleo100 at Saipol (a subsidiary of Avril), in the presence of Françoise Plouviez-Diaz, Deputy Prefect of Coutances, and Gilles Ménard, Mayor of Granville, reviewed the first 18 months of B100 biofuel use on the Régiolis trains operating on the Paris–Granville line.
Over this period, 11,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions were avoided. Aware of the challenges posed by climate change, the partners are committed to a joint approach to reducing CO₂ emissions across the region.
Since April 2021, trains on the Paris–Granville line have been running exclusively on B100, a 100% rapeseed-based biofuel, a first in France.
This pioneering initiative in Normandy and across France provides a short-term way to move away from fossil fuels without modifying the rolling stock, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions for more sustainable mobility.
On July 5, 2022, the Plenary Assembly of the Normandy Region approved the continuation of B100 use.
CONVINCING RESULTS
The first phase of the trial in commercial service, launched in April 2021, aimed to assess the range of the rolling stock when operating on B100 biofuel, as well as the performance of the rolling stock by monitoring the behavior of the internal combustion engine. All the elements analyzed confirmed that the rolling stock performed well.
Over 18 months, trains on the Paris–Granville line travelled 3.5 million kilometres, and switching to B100 biofuel helped avoid more than 11,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of 1,235 French people (carbon emissions are estimated at 8.9 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per French person per year. Source: French Ministry for Ecological Transition.)
The Quanti GES study, a methodology developed by ADEME and applied to the B100 solution on the Paris–Granville line, quantified the impact of this decarbonization initiative. Deploying the B100 solution resulted in a 62% reduction in GHG emissions compared with the fossil diesel previously used to fuel these trains.
100% PLANT-BASED ENERGY, 100% MADE INE FRANCE
Since April 2022, SNCF Voyageurs and the Normandy Region have chosen to work with Saipol, which produces B100 under the Oleo100 brand.
B100 is a 100% plant-based biofuel produced from the processing of rapeseed oil. It offers a range close to that of diesel. This fuel is transported from the Normandy site in Grand-Couronne in vehicles that themselves run on Oleo100 and is stored in tanks at the Granville Technicentre.
The Oleo100 product meets sustainability criteria.
Oleo100:
A renewable energy source, entirely produced from rapeseed harvested in France, particularly around the Normandy region:
- processed locally in Normandy (Saipol plant in Grand-Couronne, producer and distributor of Oleo100),
- transported to Granville by trucks also running on B100, ensuring sustainable transportation,
- certified as sustainable following an annual audit conducted by an independent organization.
As a co-product of edible oil and non-GMO oilseed meal intended for livestock feed, Oleo100 therefore helps support France’s food, protein and energy independence.
French rapeseed does not involve deforestation or land-use change, in accordance with the European Commission’s Renewable Energy Directive RED II.
AN AMBITION : TO ACHIEVE CARBON NEUTRALITY BY 2050
The use of B100, which contributes to the region’s sustainable development and energy transition objectives, is fully aligned with the decarbonization of rail transport, with the ambition of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The B100 project is a first step towards offering alternative solutions to diesel-powered trains. The use of B100 also aims to rapidly decarbonize rail transport without significant modifications to the rolling stock.
Through the national PLANETER programme for the ecological transition of TER regional trains, SNCF Voyageurs aims to reduce the carbon footprint of passengers by one-third and thereby cut CO₂ emissions by 100,000 tonnes per year.
SNCF Voyageurs is promoting numerous innovations with the Regions to provide increasingly greener mobility solutions: HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) biofuel, hydrogen-powered, hybrid and battery-powered trains, among others.
It also aims to decarbonize all its activities through rolling stock and building efficiency projects, as well as the implementation of energy-saving measures in day-to-day operations, with new practices to reduce trains’ energy consumption, such as eco-driving and eco-stationing.
This initiative is part of the Region’s proactive policy, as part of the establishment of the Normandy GIEC (regional climate change expert group).
