The old adage “be careful what you wish for” can be a double edged sword for those that make breakthrough discoveries. The solution has been found, but now it needs to be put into practice. Put the breakthrough into practice judiciously and the dividends will pay off, do it wrong and the company starts swimming in debt.
U.S. Sustainable Energy Corp., A biofuel processor, has begun the introduction process for a new formulation of biodiesel. As a result of a fairly historic discovery, which the company announced in 2007, the company is now moving forward with a process that could replace diesel fuel in the relatively near term. The goals of the company are certainly lofty, although attainable given the current environmental focus on all things climate.
Market penetration is one of the major stumbling blocks that the company will need to overcome. The market is well aware of biodiesel, but is also aware of what it can do to machinery. Current biodiesel has high sulfur and other tell tale characteristics that make it unattractive. The new biodiesel developed by the company solves the issues surrounding biodiesel, but getting the word out to customers is the challenge. Overall the biodiesel community is fairly close knit, but ramping up for such a sea change may be a difficult sell. Among some of the segments where this biodiesel product will end up in use include: retail sales (a growing network is developing), electricity generation (small scale and large), fleet use, marine use, mining use and possibly passenger cars at some distant point.
Cracking the chemical issues surrounding biodiesel is a large step forward. How it develops over time is anybody’s guess. Generally speaking, however, the chemical breakthrough offers very positive indications, as does increased production per unit of feedstock that also has been a result.
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