A UK-based startup has announced a hybrid engine design that it claims delivers a 40% improvement in fuel consumption compared to the average new passenger car registered in Europe in 2023, while running on what it describes as 100% renewable gasoline. The company says it is using official European monitoring data as the baseline for that comparison. If the performance holds up under independent testing, it could offer smaller manufacturers a shortcut to meeting strict CO2 targets without redesigning entire vehicle platforms.
How the 40% Fuel Savings Figure Was Derived
The 40% fuel-consumption reduction is not a lab-only number plucked from ideal conditions. It is measured against the average CO2 output of new passenger cars registered across Europe in 2023, a baseline drawn from the EEA monitoring dataset that tracks official WLTP values submitted by EU member states. That dataset represents the real-world registration mix of petrol, diesel, hybrid, and battery-electric vehicles sold in the European market, making it a credible yardstick rather than a cherry-picked comparison against older or less efficient models.
The WLTP testing protocol itself sits within the compliance structure of Regulation (EU) 2019/631, which sets CO2 emission performance standards for new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. Automakers must report their fleet-average emissions under this regulation, and the EEA aggregates those submissions into the monitoring data used here. By pegging its efficiency claim to this regulatory baseline, the startup is effectively arguing that its hybrid engine, paired with renewable fuel, can beat the average new car on the European market by a wide margin, even though that average already includes zero-emission electric vehicles pulling the fleet number down.
Renewable Fuel and the RED II Framework
Running on “100% renewable fuel” is a claim that requires its own verification pathway, separate from engine efficiency. The EU’s primary standard for evaluating such fuels is Directive (EU) 2018/2001, commonly known as RED II, which promotes the use of energy from renewable sources across the bloc. Annex V of that directive, including its Section C, lays out default rules and assumptions for calculating lifecycle greenhouse gas emission savings for renewable fuels. Any company claiming its fuel is “renewable” in a European regulatory context must demonstrate compliance with these lifecycle calculations, which account for emissions from feedstock cultivation, processing, transport, and combustion.
This matters because a 40% improvement in fuel consumption does not automatically translate into a 40% cut in total CO2 emissions. The GHG savings methodology in RED II is designed to capture the full carbon footprint of a fuel, from field to tailpipe. The directive’s lifecycle methodology is the reference framework for calculating greenhouse-gas savings for renewable fuels in an EU regulatory context. The startup’s engine would need to demonstrate not just that it burns less fuel per mile, but that the renewable gasoline it uses meets the lifecycle thresholds set out in Annex V. Without that second layer of proof, the environmental benefit remains only partially substantiated.
A Potential Shortcut for Smaller Automakers
The strategic appeal of this hybrid engine lies less in its headline efficiency number and more in what it could mean for manufacturers that lack the capital to develop full battery-electric platforms. Under EU CO2 performance standards, automakers face increasingly strict fleet-average emissions targets through 2030 and beyond. Large manufacturers can spread the cost of electrification across millions of units. Smaller firms, specialty producers, and companies in markets where charging infrastructure remains sparse face a steeper climb.
A hybrid engine that achieves significant fuel savings on renewable gasoline could, in theory, allow these companies to bring their fleet averages down without abandoning internal combustion entirely. The approach would treat renewable fuel as a compliance tool rather than just an environmental preference. That logic tracks with the broader intent of the European Union’s renewable energy policies, which aim to decarbonize transport through multiple pathways, not exclusively through electrification. Still, how renewable fuels interact with fleet-average CO2 compliance under EU CO2 performance standards is a policy and accounting question that can depend on definitions and implementing details.
What Remains Unproven
For all the regulatory alignment the startup can claim, several gaps stand between its announcement and market credibility. No publicly available WLTP certification data exists for the engine itself. The EEA monitoring dataset used as a baseline covers fleet-wide averages for new registrations, but the startup’s own powertrain has not, based on available sources, been shown to have gone through the same type-approval and reporting pathway used for official WLTP figures under the CO2 standards that govern new vehicles. Without that step, the 40% figure remains a company claim rather than a regulatory finding.
There is also no public record of independent third-party testing confirming the engine’s performance on renewable gasoline under real driving conditions. WLTP results, while more realistic than the older NEDC protocol, still differ from everyday driving. The startup has not disclosed detailed engineering specifications, thermal efficiency data, or the specific renewable fuel formulation it tested. These are not minor omissions. They are the difference between a promising prototype and a product that fleet buyers and regulators can trust. The renewable fuel itself would also need to carry certification under the lifecycle rules in RED II’s Annex V, and no such certification has been publicly linked to the startup’s testing program.
Why Skepticism Should Not Mean Dismissal
Healthy skepticism is warranted whenever a young company claims a double-digit efficiency gain in a mature technology like internal combustion. Yet outright dismissal would ignore the direction of travel in EU policy and the role that transitional technologies can play. The combination of a more efficient hybrid engine and certified renewable gasoline fits squarely within the EU’s attempt to balance climate ambition with technological neutrality, as expressed in its evolving climate and energy framework. Provided the startup can substantiate its claims with formal testing and transparent data, its approach could complement, rather than compete with, the rapid rollout of battery-electric vehicles.
Ultimately, the value of this innovation will be judged not by press releases but by how it performs under the same regulatory microscopes applied to established automakers and fuel suppliers. That means WLTP certification, lifecycle emissions verification under RED II, and clear evidence that the claimed 40% fuel saving holds up across a range of driving conditions. If those hurdles are cleared, the technology could offer smaller manufacturers a pragmatic route to compliance and give policymakers another tool in the complex task of decarbonizing road transport without leaving niche segments or less affluent markets behind.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
