If the subject of biodiesel has ever caused you to conjure images of a battered Mercedes station wagon piloted by a young, unkempt environmentalist, picture instead a truck or maybe even a motor vessel owned by the U.S. Navy, the world’s top user of diesel fuel.

Earlier this month, Santa Barbara-based Biodiesel Industries, in partnership with the Navy and defense aerospace contractor Aerojet, announced the successful demonstration of a new biodiesel production process using a diverse array of waste-grade feedstocks. Biodiesel Industries worked with Navy engineers and scientists at Port Hueneme’s naval base for six years to develop ARIES — Automated Real-time, Remote, Integrated Energy System — a sensor-controlled fuel production system designed to produce fuel of consistent quality from different feedstocks. The goal is part of a federal initiative to increase the use of alternative fuels that has been gaining momentum over the past decade.

“The need for alternative fuels is a bi-partisan issue,” said Biodiesel Industries president and founder Russ Teall. “Conservatives understand the need for energy independence and security. Progressives like it because it’s an environmental issue.”

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