Clean vehicle project receives grant in US

US-based Oberon Fuels (OF), which has brought dimethyl ether (DME), a clean burning diesel alternative to market, has received a grant to produce fuel-grade DME at its facilities in California.

The $500,000 (€373,000) grant from the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) will be used by OF to provide DME produced from biogas for supermarket brand Safeway’s North American trucking operations.

OF plans to produce DME from renewable feedstocks such as animal, food and agricultural waste, while preventing methane from being released into the atmosphere and converting the waste to a usable, clean-burning fuel.

‘This is an important project for the San Joaquin Valley region because air quality has been a continuing challenge in the area,’ says Seyed Sahedrin, executive director of the SVJAPCD. ‘This DME project could have lasting results for the region, both environmentally and in producing new jobs, so providing some of the funds for it is a good idea.’

The DME will initially be used in two heavy-duty Volvo trucks driven by Safeway from its Tracy, California distribution centre located in the San Joaquin Valley.