During the great recession, the auto industry in the USA took a hammering and this served to accelerate a trend toward more efficient cars. Those days of $.50 gasoline and huge, inefficient cars are certainly on the way out, and we have now seen that sky-high gas prices can plague us, even when recessionary forces are not apparent.

They say that we will soon see an influx of European style cars on American roads. Europeans have long seen the value of efficient vehicles and the kind of car we see on American roads is almost unheard-of here. Following trends, we can imagine an influx of European vehicles including a much higher proportion of diesel engine vehicles as well. The diesel engine is much more efficient than the petrol engine, even though the petro diesel fuel is a little more costly.

There is now a considerable upward trend and we’re likely to see an increase from the one in 20 diesel engine cars on the roads in the US, with a good future for biodiesel. Not surprisingly, biodiesel fuel is much more environmentally friendly, emits very little greenhouse gases and can be made from readily available materials. The process for making biodiesel is fairly straightforward using animal fat or vegetable oil, commonly known as transesterification.

You may have already experimented with making homemade biodiesel in your garage and been quite successful. You might smell the makings of a cottage industry and be aware that in your particular locale there are no dedicated or existing biodiesel distributors.

As an entrepreneur, commercial biodiesel may be in your future. Consider where you could find the oils or fats you need, the methanol and caustic soda in the correct quantities. Note that you will need more facility space and a more enhanced production process than where you are now, but the basic ideas remain the same.

Before you will be able to sell products commercially, you must ensure a good level of quality and purity, get certified and find the right operational business licenses. If you are unable to fund the entire operation set up yourself, note that you may be able to find grants and incentives, especially from government authorities that clearly see climate related pressures. It is very trendy to be sustainable these days and authorities realise that they should make public funding available to those who are following this trend.

Learn lessons from those who are already set up. In certain parts of the country, biodiesel fuel users are more in evidence, especially in new England and the Northwest. Do your research well and why not profit from a trend which is yet to fully emerge? With so much change coming on the horizon, ever so much faster than we may realise, it only makes sense to become more sustainable as quickly as we can by turning to environmentally sound energy sources. Try biodiesel today, and see for yourself what the experience brings!