National Science Foundation (NSF) has granted a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award to Wayne State University’s startup company, NextCAT. The company works to enhance a biofuel catalyst technology that has been developed at Wayne State University’s National Biofuels Energy Laboratory.
Biodiesel is environmentally safe as it is biodegradable and nontoxic. The production of advanced biofuels decreases the dependence on foreign oil. The main objective of NextCAT is to commercialize a new group of catalysts, which enable conversion of cost-effective raw materials like residual corn oil, animal fats and vegetable oil into biodiesel. NextCAT’s advanced catalyst technology offers a minimum cost savings of $1 per gallon as compared to the traditional biodiesel production process.
Wayne’s start-up company has also received seed funding from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund and Automation Alley. The funding will be used to design, construct and install a pilot reactor at one of the biodiesel equipment manufacturers’ engineering facility.
NextCAT’s project will deliver a feasible solution for several biodiesel producers. The new process allows biodiesel producers to use low-cost feedstock and significantly simplify the production process. The SBIR grant will allow NextCAT to demonstrate its innovative catalyst technology by installing it in an industrial plant. The technology is expected to be an effective alternative to the existing biodiesel production process and it has high potential to create an impact in the environment as well as on the economy.