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where trucks fuel often have 100% biodiesel that gets blended on site as B5 or B20. Because of that, B100 already exists at truck stops, and to scale up the ability to dispense is really about putting another pump in at the truck stop.”

Infrastructure availability also is a compelling argument when considering other potential competing fuels—electricity and hydrogen. “When looking holistically at what is necessary to reduce emissions and carbon at large scale, electrification or hydrogen requires complete new build out and development of infrastructure,” Huwyler says. “Biodiesel is already at places where trucks are fueling today.”

Nobody really knows how many truck stops already have B100 on site, Howell says. And nobody knows how much B100 gets used today without blending, although he says it’s likely quite small and mostly consumed in underground mines. “They’re at 50 degrees all the time and can use a low cloud point biodiesel, which reduces particulates by 50%. Both John Deere and Caterpillar support B100 in engines with no after treatment,” Howell adds.

Howell sees biodiesel’s value proposition as helping fleets meet their carbon reduction goals. “If you committed to your shareholders to reduce SCOPE 1 emissions by 50% by 2030, you kind of have to do that. You could meet your Scope 1 emissions reduction tomorrow if you put in an Optimus system and used B100 in your whole fleet,” he says, adding that is part of the reason Optimus just raised $17 million in venture capital.

Optimus announced the new round of financing in April, led by Japan’s Mitsui & Co. The Series A funding round included participation from one of North America’s largest commercial fleets, Chevron Renewable Energy Group, and regional investors in the Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, area where Optimus is headquartered.

“It’s been a really strong year-over-year growth for interest in sustainability and carbon reduction solutions,” Huwyler says. “We’ve seen great growth.” The investment from Mitsui grew out of a project launched in Japan last year, he adds. “We will be expanding in Japan and Asian markets in partnership in Mitsui, and we have partnerships we’re working on now to expand in Australia and South America that we will be announcing in the next months.”

Domestically, the investment from Chevron REG will help create additional demand and volume for the country’s largest biodiesel producer. “It’s really a great set of strategic partnerships that will help grow the company,” Huwyler says, “but it’s also help to provide mutual opportunities across fleets and large users of diesel fuel.”

Author: Susanne Retka Schill Contact: editor@bbiinternational.com