Troubled biodiesel firm Imperium Renewables got a rare piece of positive news today as Boeing issued a glowing report about its recent test flights with biofuel-powered jets.The test flights with airlines including Japan Airlines, Air New Zealand and Continental showed that biofuels made from plants performed "as well or better" than petroleum-based fuel, Forbes reports. Imperium founder CEO John Plaza was quick to seize on the report's implications for his industry.
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"This is a huge, huge validation of where biofuels can go," says John Plaza, the chief executive of Imperium Renewables, a Seattle biodiesel company that supplied fuel for a Virgin Atlantic test flight last year. (That flight wasn't included in Boeing's tests.) Plaza stressed, however, that jet biofuels are created with more sophisticated processing techniques than traditional biodiesel, which is also derived from plants but powers cars, trucks and ships.
Still, "this is technology we're interested in pursuing," Plaza said in an interview with Forbes. Imperium's main plant in Washington state is not producing any biodiesel now but hopes to start up again if demand picks up and the credit market thaws.
Imperium laid off a chunk of staff earlier this year and its massive, 100-million gallon biodiesel plant in Grays Harbor County reportedly sits idle. The company suffered a series of setbacks, including a canceled IPO, over the past couple years as the biodiesel and credit markets went into a tailspin.
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