In Spain, 20 cars will use a certified fuel for six months, to verify its compatibility and distribution on the existing network.

The European discussion on the decarbonisation of road transport continues to focus mainly on electrification, but an experiment launched in Spain brings another possible path back to the centre: the use of renewable fuels in combustion engines already on the roads. For the next six months the BMW Group, Toyota Motor Europe, Bosch e Repsol will test in real operating conditions a fleet of approximately twenty cars powered exclusively by 100 percent renewable gasoline, without requiring engine modifications or new refueling infrastructure.

The initiative, which started in early July 2026, aims to test the concept of Vehicles Exclusively running on Eligible Fuels (VEEF), i.e. vehicles designed to run exclusively on renewable or low-emission fuels that comply with the sustainability criteria set out in the Renewable Energy Directive ofXNUMX-XNUMX business daysThe goal is not to develop a new engine, but rather to demonstrate that part of the reduction in climate-altering emissions can be achieved by exploiting existing automotive assets, the existing distribution network, and advanced fuel origin certification systems.

The experiment uses cars Toyota e Lexus provided by Toyota Spain, along with some vehicles from the fleet of the BMW Group. Everyone will be fed with Nexa 95, the renewable gasoline developed by Repsol, while Bosch will provide the IT platform responsible for certifying each refueling and tracking its entire usage cycle.

The project is particularly important because it addresses one of the main challenges of alternative fuels: demonstrating with verifiable data that the fuel used is truly renewable and is actually used in the declared vehicle. Without reliable certification systems, it becomes difficult to attribute environmental benefits and develop potential regulatory or fiscal mechanisms based on actual emissions reductions.

Spain It was chosen as a testbed because it currently represents one of the few European markets where a commercial network capable of distributing pure renewable gasoline at service stations open to the public is already available. This allows for testing not only the behavior of the cars, but also the fuel's actual integration into drivers' daily experiences, without creating infrastructure dedicated exclusively to testing.

According to the promotersThe project aims to generate data that can also be used in the European institutional debate on the future regulation of combustion engines. The experiment does not question the growing role of electric vehicles, but rather seeks to verify whether renewable fuels can provide a complementary solution to reduce emissions from the vast existing fleet, preventing millions of perfectly functioning cars from having to be replaced solely for regulatory reasons.

The program will last six months It will gather information on vehicle operating behavior, fueling quality, the reliability of certification systems, and the feasibility of replicating the model on a much larger scale. The results will be shared with European policymakers, industrial operators, and stakeholders involved in defining future energy and transport policies.

The role of renewable fuels in the European energy transition

The heart of the experimentation is represented by Nexa 95, the renewable gasoline developed by Repsol Using raw materials that comply with the sustainability criteria set by European regulations. These are primarily organic residues, waste, and other biomass that do not compete with food production and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by considering the fuel's entire life cycle, from raw material sourcing to engine use.

Unlike fossil fuels, whose carbon comes from geological deposits that have been isolated from the atmosphere for millions of years, renewable fuels exploit carbon already present in the contemporary biological cycle or derived from waste materials. While they generate carbon dioxide during combustion, they can therefore help reduce the overall "well-to-wheel" emissions balance, that is, along the entire energy chain. The actual extent of this benefit naturally depends on the origin of the raw materials, the production processes used, and the energy used in refining.

One of the most interesting aspects of the trial is the possibility of using these fuels without modifying cars, distributors, or logistics. The participating vehicles continue to be refueled at standard service stations, demonstrating how the spread of renewable fuels can leverage an infrastructure built over more than a century of automotive mobility.

This feature distinguishes the so-called drop-in fuels from other solutions that require dedicated investments, such as new charging networks or specific infrastructure for hydrogen and other energy carriers. The promoters of the experiment believe that this compatibility could accelerate emissions reductions, especially during the transition period, when millions of internal combustion engine cars will continue to circulate on European roads.

Digital certification can now track every liter of fuel

Alongside the fuel, perhaps the most innovative component of the entire project comes into play: the system Digital Fuel Twin developed by BoschThe goal is not just to record a refueling, but to build a verifiable digital identity for the fuel throughout the entire supply chain.

The platform collects information from multiple sources simultaneously: vehicle data, service station data, transactions made using fuel cards, and the information needed to certify that the fuel placed in the tank actually corresponds to the declared renewable gasoline.

This continuous monitoring allows each refueling to be associated with a specific vehicle, creating verifiable documentation useful to both fleet managers and regulatory bodies. Such a system could become particularly important if the European Union were to introduce regulatory instruments in the future that recognize the climate benefits of using only renewable fuels.

Marko Babic, responsible for the Product Area of Bosch dedicated to Digital Fuel Twin, underlines this very aspect.

"With our Digital Fuel Twin, we're bringing complete digital transparency across the entire fuel value chain, enabling the reliable tracking and verification of renewable fuels from the moment they enter the market to the end user. By precisely monitoring the consumption of each individual vehicle in real time, we're building the foundation of trust and regulatory compliance necessary for the greater adoption of renewable fuels in mobility and transportation."

For industrial operators, the platform's value lies beyond administrative certification. The data collected will allow them to analyze fleet behavior, verify actual fuel consumption, compare different usage patterns, and understand how digital monitoring can be extended to thousands or tens of thousands of vehicles without changing companies' existing operating procedures.

Industry and alternative fuels: the issue of technological neutrality

Beyond the strictly technical aspects, the experimentation has industrial and political significance. The European debate on the decarbonization of transport has for years focused primarily on the spread of electric mobility, while car manufacturers continue to argue that emissions reduction can also be achieved through multiple complementary technologies.

It is in this context that the concept of technology neutrality, that is, a regulatory approach that does not favor a single technology, but defines climate objectives while leaving the market and research to identify the most effective solutions. According to the project's promoters, electrification, renewable fuels, advanced biofuels, synthetic fuels, and hybrid systems could simultaneously contribute to emissions reduction, each in the segments where it offers the best balance between costs, environmental benefits, and industrial maturity.

For BMW Group The trial also represents an opportunity to gather data useful for the development of future engines. The German automaker reaffirms its strategy based on openness to different propulsion technologies, avoiding concentrating investments in a single energy solution.

"Technological openness is one of the cornerstones of the BMW Group's strategy. Our goal is to have increasingly efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles on the road. This trial will allow us to gather valuable data to continue offering customers around the world the most efficient engines in the years to come."

says Stefan Heller, responsible for the development of the VEEF program of the BMW Group.

The experiment will allow us to observe not only the behavior of the fuel, but also any effects on fleet management, routine maintenance, and the quality of data collected over thousands of kilometers traveled under normal conditions of use.

Repsol focuses on its existing network, while Toyota looks to the fleet.

For Repsol The project represents a concrete demonstration of the possibility of leveraging the existing distribution network in the country. The Spanish company is currently the only operator in the country to distribute 100% renewable gasoline through regular service stations open to the public, a feature that makes the experiment possible without setting up facilities dedicated exclusively to research.

Secondo Estíbaliz Pombo, Deputy Director of Energy Products of Repsol, decarbonising transport requires a multi-faceted set of tools rather than a single technological solution.

We believe that any solution capable of reducing emissions must play a role in the decarbonization of transport. This project demonstrates how renewable fuels can expand consumer choice, enabling them to reduce their carbon footprint while using existing vehicles and infrastructure. The data collected during the trial will help demonstrate the value of a technology-neutral approach to Europe's mobility transition.

A similar position is also expressed by Toyota Motor Europe, which considers renewable fuels as a possible complement to the spread of electric mobility, especially during the long phase of renewal of the European car fleet.

Renewable fuels can play an important role alongside electrification in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. As the transition progresses, the risk that the goal of a fleet consisting exclusively of zero-emission vehicles by 2035 may not be fully achieved is increasingly evident. In this scenario, renewable fuels can help bridge the gap, especially in conjunction with hybrid and plug-in hybrid technologies.

observes Pascal Ruch, Vice President Corporate & Governmental Affairs of Toyota Motor Europe.

This position reflects one of the main open questions in European industrial policy: how to rapidly reduce emissions even from the hundreds of millions of combustion engine cars that will continue to circulate for many years to come, regardless of the growth in electric vehicle sales.

The trial data could influence the regulatory framework

At the end of its six-month operation, the project will provide a wealth of information that goes far beyond the simple behavior of cars powered by renewable gasoline. The partners will analyze the reliability of certification systems, the quality of data collected, operators' ability to associate each refueling with a specific vehicle, and the possibility of extending this model to much larger corporate fleets.

A significant portion of the work will also involve testing monitoring methodologies. If the system proves sufficiently robust, it could provide European institutions with a concrete tool for certifying the exclusive use of renewable fuels and measuring their effects on emissions reductions throughout the entire lifecycle.

This aspect represents one of the most innovative elements of the experiment. To date, the debate on alternative fuels has focused primarily on their production and commercial availability; systems capable of demonstrating their actual use by individual vehicles are much less developed. The platform developed by Bosch tries to fill this gap by creating a documentary chain that accompanies the fuel from the refinery to the car tank.

The results will be shared with European Commission, policymakers, automotive industry representatives, and energy operators. The stated goal is to contribute to the definition of future transport decarbonization policies by providing data collected under real-world operating conditions rather than laboratory simulations.

A technology already available, albeit with limitations yet to be evaluated

The trial isn't intended to demonstrate that renewable fuels can completely replace electrification. The proponents, instead, see it as a complementary solution, particularly beneficial for reducing emissions from the vast fleet of cars already in circulation, which will still take many years to replace.

However, some open questions remain. The availability of sustainable raw materials is limited and could hardly meet the entire energy needs of European road transport alone. Production capacity will also need to increase significantly for fuels like renewable gasoline to achieve truly widespread use.

Another factor concerns costs. The economic competitiveness of renewable fuels will depend on the evolution of industrial processes, the availability of biomass, and the possible introduction of regulatory tools capable of leveraging their climate benefits compared to traditional fossil fuels.

Despite these uncertainties, the Spanish trial represents one of the first European attempts to simultaneously verify all the elements necessary for a possible large-scale diffusion: vehicle compatibility, commercial availability of fuel, existing distribution network, digital certification e complete traceability of the supply cycle.

If the results confirm what the promoters hypothesized, the project could provide European legislators with a concrete case on which to base part of the discussion regarding the Vehicles Exclusively running on Eligible Fuels. It won't be enough, on its own, to change the current direction of EU policy, but it will provide experimental data collected under real-world operating conditions, an element that has so far been missing from the debate between electrification advocates and proponents of a technology-neutral approach.

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