Newly branded vehicles highlight of National Biodiesel Day

The National Biodiesel Board launched its 2020 vehicle branding program March 18 designed to showcase biodiesel’s sustainability and emissions reduction benefits. The program kicks off on National Biodiesel Day, the anniversary of Rudolf Diesel’s birthday, with the theme “Biodiesel: Better. Cleaner. Now!”

“When Rudolf invented the diesel engine in the 1890s, it was designed to run on peanut oil and he envisioned the prominent role plant oils could play in fueling vehicles of the future,” said Kaleb Little, NBB director of communications. “Our industry has come a long way since then and we are excited to highlight numerous fleets advertising their biodiesel use right on their vehicles.”

NBB is also launching the 2020 branding program to help biodiesel users across the country share their stories of sustainability and emissions reductions. 

“Our new tagline, ‘Biodiesel: Better. Cleaner. Now!’ tells the biodiesel story simply,” Little said. “Biodiesel is better and cleaner than petroleum diesel—with proven environmental, health and economic benefits—and is ready to use now, unlike some other options that require massive infrastructure or retrofit investments.”

NBB encourages biodiesel users to promote their use of biodiesel and share its benefits by applying for matching funds to be used for vehicle branding initiatives, which may include wraps, stickers or other innovative efforts. Applications are available online  and are due by April 30.

In 2019, NBB provided matching funds to six biodiesel users. They include Roslin Enterprises; Cape Cod Biofuels; The City of Moline, Illinois; G&D Integrated; CityLink, Greater Peoria Mass Transit District; and Al Warren Oil.

Roslin Enterprises, a family-owned Canadian company, branded 10 tanker trailers with the Hero BX and NBB logos. Its trucks travel a 1,500 mile-radius in Canada and the U.S. collecting biodiesel feedstocks such as used cooking oil, yellow grease and choice white grease from large renderers and other industrial food manufacturers. These feedstocks are delivered to Hero BX where they’re converted into biodiesel.

Cape Cod Biofuels, a Massachusetts-based biodiesel producer, wrapped an oil tanker used to transport biodiesel and Bioheat across much of New England from Maine to Connecticut. Cape Cod Biofuels is an NBB member-company that produces biodiesel from used cooking oil collected from restaurants throughout the region.

The City of Moline, Illinois, branded two refuse haulers that travel throughout the Quad-Cities metropolitan area. The decals share the clean air and cleaner community benefits of using biodiesel. The city has used B20 biodiesel in more than 80 diesel vehicles and pieces of equipment since 2005. The fleet services division also provides B20 to the City of East Moline, Rock Island Arsenal Fire Department, Black Hawk College, Moline School District, Moline Housing Authority, and the TaxSlayer Center.

G&D Integrated, a specialized provider of transportation and logistics services based in Morton, Illinois, and an inaugural member of the Illinois B20 Club, wrapped two 53-foot box trailers. G&D operates more than 400 vehicles on blends up to B20 year-round.

CityLink, Greater Peoria Mass Transit District, wrapped one transit and two para-transit buses that operate in Peoria and Tazewell Counties. The agency has used B20 in more than 50 transit buses and 20 paratransit buses year-round since 2009.

Al Warren Oil Company, a family-owned fuel marketer founded in 1948, wrapped a box truck that makes deliveries to customers throughout the greater Chicagoland area and northwest Indiana. Al Warren provides biodiesel blends to its diverse customer base and powers its Illinois-based fleet of more than 70 diesel vehicles on blends up to B20.

Made from an increasingly diverse mix of resources such as recycled cooking oil, soybean oil and animal fats, biodiesel is a renewable, clean-burning diesel replacement that can be used in existing diesel engines without modification. It is the nation’s first domestically produced, commercially available advanced biofuel. NBB is the U.S. trade association representing the entire biodiesel and renewable diesel value chain, including producers, feedstock suppliers and fuel distributors.