In 2018, the Crewe site became the first luxury automotive factory in the UK to be certified carbon neutral by the Carbon Trust, a certification that has since been renewed twice. Innovations at the factory include a water recycling system in the paint shop, local tree planting, the use of 30,000 on-site solar panels, and a switch to renewable-only electricity sources.

The new biofuel bowser is now enabling vehicles from the Bentley Heritage Collection and the press fleet to reduce their CO2 impact by an estimated 85 percent when compared to ordinary gasoline.

Bentley ran six vehicles at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed using biofuel, all of which successfully completed the 32 hill-climb sprints during the event. The 750 horsepower Bentley Batur, whose W12 engine used biofuel, became the third- fastest production car during the weekend.

Bentley’s newest flagship, the Bentayga EWB, also completed the hill climb while towing 2.5 tons of straw. If this straw was converted to biofuel, it would be enough to power the Bentayga for around 1,800 kilometers, or provide fuel for all the Bentleys at Goodwood Festival.

The new biofuel now installed at Crewe conforms to the global EN228 standard for gasoline, meaning that it’s a straightforward replacement for normal pump fuel. No engine modifications are necessary, even for the oldest surviving Bentley, the 1920 EXP2. Any Bentley ever built will run as powerfully and smoothly on the new biofuel as it does on normal pump gasoline, while dramatically reducing carbon footprint.

The development of biofuel forms part of Bentley’s Beyond100 strategy that will see the company’s models switching exclusively to plug-in hybrid or battery electric vehicles by 2026, and to 100 percent electric vehicles by 2030. Bentley intends to become an end-to-end carbon neutral organization as it embarks on its second century.