A wide range of groups announced a partnership to conduct a year-long validation project of revolutionary biodiesel technology.
Five trucks owned by ADM will be outfitted with Optimus Technologies Vector Fuel System, which enables diesel engines to run almost entirely on sustainable biodiesel.
In a real-world environment, the trucks will be used in everyday fleet operations for a year, with each vehicle likely to travel between 160,000 and 180,000 miles, while reducing up to 500,000 pounds of carbon dioxide.
Five other trucks in the ADM fleet will be a control group in the study and operate on conventional biodiesel.
While nearly all diesel engine manufacturers support at least 20 percent biodiesel, the Optimus Vector System is designed to allow conventional diesel engines to run on 100 percent biodiesel in a wide range of climates.
The system is already in use in short mileage, local fleet applications.
The new project will test the viability for longer-haul, over-the-road fleets, which could potentially open a pathway to significantly higher volumes of biodiesel in the U.S. truck fleet.
Other organizations involved in the project include the National Biodiesel Board, the Illinois Soybean Association, and the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council.