We broker HVO renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel and bionaphtha between producers, oil majors, distributors, aviation fuel suppliers and petrochemical buyers. These are hydrotreated products, so the conversation is different from FAME: they are chemically drop-in, which means the specification is rarely the obstacle and the feedstock traceability, the certification chain and the mandate treatment are.
The three products
- HVO / renewable diesel: hydrotreated vegetable oil, fats and waste oils. Specified under EN 15940 for paraffinic diesel. Chemically a hydrocarbon rather than an ester, so it has none of FAME's cold-flow, oxidation-stability or storage-life limitations, and HVO100 can be used neat in approved applications.
- SAF, sustainable aviation fuel: most commonly via the HEFA route from fats and oils, certified under ASTM D7566 and, once blended and released to specification, handled as jet fuel. Blending limits apply by pathway.
- Bionaphtha: the lighter co-product of the same hydrotreating process. It goes to steam crackers as a renewable feedstock for the petrochemical chain, or into gasoline blending, and its value depends heavily on whether the buyer can make a certified renewable claim on the polymer downstream.
Why demand is contracted rather than opportunistic
The demand side of this market is written into regulation, which changes how it trades. ReFuelEU Aviation obliges fuel suppliers at EU airports to supply an increasing share of SAF, 2 % from 2025, rising to 6 % from 2030 and further thereafter, with a sub-obligation for synthetic fuels. Road transport obligations under RED III as transposed nationally do the equivalent job for HVO.
The practical effect is that volume tends to be contracted forward by parties who must cover a legal obligation, rather than bought opportunistically on price. Spot availability is thinner than the headline production numbers suggest, and a seller who can offer certified volume in a specific delivery window has more leverage than one offering a marginally better number.
What actually gets checked
The mistake we see most often is a seller offering "HVO" or "SAF" without being able to state the feedstock and the scheme in the first message. In this market that is not a detail to be filled in later, it is the product description, and its absence reads as inexperience to every serious buyer.
| Specification | EN 15940 for paraffinic diesel; ASTM D7566 with the relevant annex for SAF; jet specification once blended and released. |
|---|---|
| Feedstock | Which oils and fats, and their Annex IX status. This drives eligibility and price more than any physical property. |
| Certification scheme | ISCC EU, ISCC CORSIA, REDcert or RSB, with the correct scope for the product and the claim. |
| Greenhouse gas saving | The actual figure on the proof of sustainability, not a default value, where the buyer's claim depends on it. |
| Chain of custody | Mass balance and the accounting period, aligned to the delivery. |
| Mandate treatment | How the volume counts in the specific destination member state, national, not EU-wide. |
| Delivery basis | In-tank, ex-works, barge, truck, pipeline or book-and-claim where the scheme permits it. |
| Blend ratio and release | For SAF, the blending limit for the pathway and who performs the release to jet specification. |
How we broker it
We work with producers placing volume, distributors and majors covering obligations, and petrochemical buyers looking for renewable cracker feed.
Because we are independent and never take title, we can tell a buyer plainly when an offer will not stand up to their own compliance team, which, in a market where the certificate is most of the value, saves considerably more money than shaving the price. Where the feedstock behind the fuel is the starting point, see used cooking oil, animal fats and POME.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between HVO and FAME biodiesel?
HVO is made by hydrotreating fats and oils and is a hydrocarbon; FAME is made by transesterification and is an ester. HVO is a drop-in fuel with excellent cold-flow properties and long storage stability, specified under EN 15940, and HVO100 can be used neat in approved applications. FAME is specified under EN 14214, is normally blended, and has cold-flow, oxidation-stability and storage-life limitations that HVO does not.
What is HEFA-SPK?
HEFA, hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids, is the most commercially mature route to sustainable aviation fuel, using the same fats-and-oils feedstocks as HVO. It is certified under ASTM D7566, with a blending limit applying to the pathway. Once blended and released to specification, the fuel is handled as conventional jet fuel.
What does ReFuelEU Aviation require?
It obliges aviation fuel suppliers at EU airports to supply a minimum share of SAF: 2 % from 2025, rising to 6 % from 2030 and increasing further thereafter, with a separate sub-obligation for synthetic aviation fuels. It is the main reason SAF tends to be contracted forward rather than bought on the spot market.
What is bionaphtha used for?
It is the lighter co-product of hydrotreating, and it goes either to steam crackers as renewable feedstock for the petrochemical chain, or into gasoline blending. The cracker route generally pays better, because it lets the polymer producer downstream make a certified renewable claim, which means the certification chain, not the hydrocarbon, is what is really being bought.
Do you broker book-and-claim SAF?
Where the applicable scheme and the buyer's own claim permit it, yes. Book-and-claim arrangements are scheme-specific and the rules differ between ISCC CORSIA, RSB and national systems, so the first question is always what the buyer actually needs to be able to claim, and to whom.
Is HVO available on the spot market?
Less than the headline production figures suggest. A large share of European volume is contracted forward by parties covering a legal obligation, so genuine spot availability is thinner and more seasonal than it appears. Sellers with certified volume in a defined delivery window are in a stronger position than the raw supply numbers imply.
Who to ask about HVO, SAF & bionaphtha
Ask us. Volume to place, or a mandate to cover? Tell us the certification and the delivery window. We answer the same working day, in English or Dutch, and there is no charge and no obligation for a market read or a second opinion on a specification.
You get Bart van den Brug directly, not a call centre and not a form that goes nowhere. We are an independent broker: we never take title, we do not trade our own book, and we are paid a commission only on business that actually concludes. That is why we will also tell you when the answer is no.
+31 6 115 83 448
[email protected]
Sustainable Commodities 3 B.V., Lemmer, the Netherlands
Last reviewed 09 August 2026 by Bart van den Brug, Sustainable Commodities 3 B.V. (KvK 99665042), Lemmer, the Netherlands. Regulatory references are given for orientation and are not legal advice; verify against the current Official Journal text before contracting.