Jan 31 2011
Michigan-based company, Automation Alley, has awarded $250,000 seed funds to NextCAT to commercialize a biodiesel catalyst technology developed at Wayne State University’s National Biofuels Energy.
NextCAT, a Detroit-based firm established in 2009, is marketing a range of catalysts that will enable biodiesel manufacturers to utilize low-cost raw products such as residual corn oil. animal fats and waste vegetable oil to produce biodiesel. Earlier, the U.S industry had experienced an economic slowdown in view of the price fall in petroleum diesel and rising food stock rates, presenting a barrier to produce biodiesel. However, the NextCAT solution with savings of $1 per gallon, significantly changes the financial state of the biodiesel industry.
According to NextCAT’s Chief Executive Officer, Charles Salle, the company’s technology has been validated in the laboratory by National Biofuels Energy Lab’s scientists The funds will further enable the company to develop and deploy a reactor in the Michigan biodiesel plant. So far, about $600,000 funds have been invested in the company, Salle informed.
NextCAT’s Chief Technology Officer, technology's co-inventor and interim associate dean at Wayne State's College of Engineering, Simon Ng, stated that the entire team is happy to advance the technology that will benefit biodiesel manufacturers. He further added that a production demonstration will be conducted later this year.
Source: http://nextcatinc.com/