BMW and Toyota test 100% renewable gasoline that ‘pollutes in reverse’ in regular cars in Spain

The BMW Group, Toyota of Europe, Bosch and Repsol have started a pilot project in Spain to evaluate the use of 100% renewable gasoline in vehicles already in circulation. The six-month initiative seeks to demonstrate that the technology can contribute to the reduction of CO₂ emissions without requiring changes to engines or existing fueling infrastructure.

The tests began at the beginning of July and involve around 20 vehicles of the BMW, Toyota and Lexus brands, fueled exclusively with Nexa 95 renewable gasoline, produced by Repsol from renewable raw materials and in compliance with the European renewable energy directive (RED) and the EN 228 standard. The fuel is compatible with current gasoline engines and can be distributed through the same stations and logistics networks as conventional fuels, which places it in the category of the so-called drop-in, which does not require adaptation of the car.

Spain was chosen to host the project because it is the only country where Repsol already sells this fuel at stations open to the public. To provide data security, the pilot relies on Bosch’s Digital Fuel Twin system, which records information on vehicles, stations and payment transactions to ensure the traceability of the entire fuel cycle and serve as a basis for future regulations.

How Renewable Gasoline Is Manufactured

Unlike synthetic fuels ( e-fuels), produced from hydrogen and captured CO₂ — a process that is still expensive and difficult to scale up — Nexa 95 is a biofuel. It is manufactured at Repsol’s industrial complex in Tarragona, from biogenic raw materials: agricultural, forestry and organic waste, as well as other biomass waste.

The environmental logic is in the carbon balance. As the plants that originate these residues absorbed CO₂ during growth, a large part of the emissions released in burning is offset at the source. For this reason, Repsol claims that the fuel reduces net CO₂ emissions by more than 70% compared to fossil gasoline, measured in the well-to-wheel cycle. The product took more than two years of development, in partnership with Honeywell, complies with the European standard EN 228 and received a formulation with a “Keep Clean” effect, designed to keep the injection system and engine valves clean.

Is it a viable idea?

At the public launch in October 2025, Repsol positioned the Nexa 95 about nine euro cents per liter above regular 95 octane gasoline, but four cents below premium 98 octane gasoline. In practice, it is a small surcharge for a fuel that does not require any change of car or fueling habit.

The bottleneck, for now, is scale. Renewable gasoline is available at a few dozen Spanish stations, with expansion planned to cities such as Valencia, Zaragoza and Bilbao. Repsol projects that 100% renewable fuels could cover 30% of European gasoline demand by 2030 and up to 65% by mid-century, supported by the opening of new plants — including a second unit in Puertollano, with a capacity of 200,000 tons per year.

According to the participating companies, the data obtained during the project will be shared with regulatory bodies in the European Union and other entities in the automotive sector. The aim is to reinforce that renewable fuels can complement electrification in the decarbonisation of transport and reduce emissions from the current fleet of combustion vehicles, at a time when the debate on the ban on the sale of new combustion cars scheduled for 2035 in Europe is growing.