Here at EnergyRushTV, we’ve been talking off and on to the management of Imperium Renewables for well over a year. Imperium is a national leader in the production of biodiesel fuels, and construction of their new refinery in Grays Harbor near the coast of Washington state had been underway for some time.

When the time came for the official grand opening event at the new refinery, naturally our team had to be there. On August 15, 2007 we traveled to the event which was attended by U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, U.S. Representative Norm Dicks, as well as representatives of Governor Chris Gregoire, the Port of Grays Harbor, and the National Biodiesel Board. Hundreds of people came from as far away as the East Coast to attend the kickoff event, and we were there to shoot it all on High Definition video.

The top executives at Imperium addressed the assembled crowd. First, Martin Tobias, the company’s CEO, welcomed the group and introduced the dignitaries present. (Note: Tobias has since left Imperium.) This was followed by remarks by Imperium president John Plaza and additional comments by several of the VIP’s. Then the moment of truth came: They all pressed the magic “GO” button and the first bit of biodiesel fuel came flowing through a spigot and into a glass beaker. Tobias dipped his finger into the mixture and exclaimed, “Hmmm, tastes like canola oil!” – referring to the feedstock used to create the biodiesel at Imperium.
Prior to the formal ceremony, we got to take a full tour of the huge facility. The company has developed and continues to develop proprietary technology and processes in both the production facility and oil feedstock areas of the biodiesel value chain. Made from renewable vegetable oils, Imperium’s B100 biodiesel fuel is a non-toxic, biodegradable and safe fuel that works in any conventional diesel engine. Biodiesel improves air quality by reducing harmful pollutants, and provides a domestically grown fuel that benefits local economies while leaving them cleaner and greener.
Imperium Renewables offers a safer, cleaner fuel for the future. The company now has plans to build biodiesel refineries in Hawaii, Argentina and Pennsylvania. You can be sure the EnergyRushTV team will be at those locations when the new facilities have their grand openings.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 8th, 2008 at 7:35 pm and is filed under Production Logs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.