DaimlerChrysler announced it will collaborate with Detroit-based NextEnergy, Inc., and Biodiesel Industries, Inc., to develop advanced renewable fuels. The partners will focus on research targeting biodiesel fuel development and technical innovation, as well as the development and refinement of industry standards for the rapidly-growing biodiesel industry.
NextEnergy, located in Detroit’s TechTown entrepreneurial community, is a non-profit organization created by the State of Michigan to advance the Alternative Energy Technology industry in Michigan.
Biodiesel Industries, headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, claims the largest network of biodiesel production facilities in the nation.
DaimlerChrysler’s Jeep Liberty CRD diesel is the first mid-sized SUV with a diesel powertrain in the U.S. market. Every Jeep Liberty CRD leaving the factory in Toledo, Ohio, is fueled with B5, 5 percent biodiesel made with soybeans grown and refined in Ohio.
Liberty CRD has already exceeded initial estimates for first-year sales, with more than 6,300 sold; more than 10,500 units have been built and shipped to dealers.
To support the research programs at NextEnergy, DaimlerChrysler will commit currently unused land at a former SuperFund environmental site for use in producing soybeans, and perhaps other oil-bearing crops, for use in NextEnergy research programs.
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