Bentley furthers its efforts to become the most sustainable luxury automaker with the debut of a biofuel tank after a victorious performance at Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Luxury automaker Bentley has taken a significant step toward its sustainability commitments by installing a 1,200-liter biofuel tank at its Crewe factory. This move comes after the company’s successful performance trials of biogasoline — branded as “Sustain by Coryton” — at the prestigious Goodwood Festival of Speed.
During the festival, Bentley’s six-strong fleet used the biogasoline for all 32 hill climbs, showcasing the fuel’s capabilities. The highlight was the 750PS, W12-engined Batur, which completed a 55.0-second run, securing a top-three position among production cars for the weekend.
Bentley’s newest flagship — the Bentayga EWB — accomplished the hill climb in just 1 minute 21 seconds while towing an impressive 2.5 metric tons of straw. The straw, when converted to biofuel, could power the Bentayga for an astounding 1,100 miles or fuel all of Bentley’s vehicles for the entire Goodwood event.
The biogasoline used by Bentley adheres to the global EN228 standard for gasoline, making it a straightforward replacement for conventional pump fuel. The automaker said no engine modifications were required to use this second-generation biofuel, making it compatible with every Bentley ever built, including the vintage 1920 EXP2. This biofuel offers the same level of power and smooth performance as traditional pump gasoline but with a dramatically reduced carbon footprint.
The production process of the biogasoline involves breaking down waste biomass through fermentation, leading to the creation of ethanol. The ethanol is then dehydrated into ethylene, which is further transformed into gasoline through a process called oligomerization. This method chains short hydrocarbon molecules together, resulting in longer and more energy-dense ones.
Unlike first-generation biofuels, which are made from food crops, second-generation biofuels use waste products, including agriculture and forestry waste and food industry by-products.
The fuel produced is 100 percent renewable and delivers an estimated 85 percent reduction in CO2 impact compared with conventional gasoline. By using waste materials that would otherwise be disposed of, second-generation biofuel avoids the ‘food versus fuel’ dilemma associated with first-generation biofuels.
Bentley’s commitment to sustainability is a key aspect of its Beyond100 strategy, which aims to transition the company’s lineup to exclusively plug-in hybrid or battery electric vehicles by 2026 and fully electric vehicles only by 2030. Bentley is determined to become an end-to-end carbon-neutral organization while also supporting all current and past vehicles in its lineup; 84 percent of all Bentleys ever produced are still operational today.
Related on Ethos:
