What is Biodiesel?
	Benefits
	Safety and performance
	Vehicle and fuel availability
	Research and programs
	Bio Links

Research

Before biodiesel can become commercially viable in Canada, more research and development must be done to find cost-effective ways to produce it and to make sure it works in cold weather.

As part of the Climate Change Action Fund, the Government of Canada, through Natural Resources Canada and the National Research Council Canada, helped to fund the construction of a small demonstration plant in Oakville, Ontario. As a pilot plant, it has the capacity to produce 1 million litres of biodiesel from vegetable oils and waste animal fat, using a new method called the BIOX™ process, developed by Professor David Boocock of the University of Toronto.

The BIOX™ process eliminates one of the chemical steps traditionally needed to create biodiesel. The equipment is also designed to work without specialized technicians. Ultimately, transport trucks could dock at a BIOX™ plant, pipe in raw material, then truck it away after it is processed into biodiesel. In addition, this method promises to cut biodiesel-processing costs. It could produce biodiesel that costs the same as petroleum diesel.

In June 2004, BIOX Corporation announced that it intends to construct a 60-million-litre-per-year commercial-scale demonstration plant. The plant should be in operation by 2006 and is expected to cost $24 million, $5 million of which has been committed by Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC).

Biodiesel (B-5 and B-20) has been tested in 155 buses in downtown Montréal as part of a demonstration project funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Quebec provincial government. The aim was to study how biodiesel works in real-life conditions, particularly in cold weather, and to determine the feasibility of supplying biodiesel to a mass transit company such as the Société de transport de Montréal (STM). The project also assessed the economic and environmental impact of using biodiesel.

Saskatoon Transit Services is testing biodiesel by running two buses on B-5, along with two "control" buses that run on conventional diesel. Over two years, each bus will be monitored and evaluated for emissions, fuel economy and engine wear.

Programs

At this time, there are no specific programs in Canada related to biodiesel vehicles.