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Where does your money come from?

We’ve only announced a common round, a venture round from Technology Partners and Nth Power. We’re in the middle of another round that I’m not yet in the position to disclose yet. But I can say it’ll be the largest biodiesel financing in the country.

There’s been a lot of navel gazing here in the U.S. in the last few weeks about biofuels. What’s the future of biofuels worldwide?

As with many things, like cell phones and clean diesel technology, America is behind and playing catch up. America is the biggest consumer and will eventually drive the market. But Europe is well ahead. Germany alone will produce more than a billion gallons of biodiesel this year.

I just got back from Europe last week, and every car, cab, bus was clean diesel. Nice, clean, powerful diesel. For them, biodiesel is the renewable fuel of the future. Not ethanol. Biodiesel.

Every renewable fuel standard in every country is at least double if not triple the standard of the one here in the U.S. It’s front and center of the national consciousness and debate in most areas of the world other than here. Outside the U.S. they’re being much more aggressive, particularly in carbon.

We’ve announced a refinery in Argentina. We’re going to build one there and supply to the European market that way.

We’re an American company, we’re small, and we’re spending most of our focus this year in the United States. But I wouldn’t be surprised if by 2010 most of our revenue comes from international operations.

How did a software guy get into renewable fuels?

Boredom! I got tired of lying on the beach and was interested in a new challenge.

I had a diesel car back in the 80s, back at the first oil shock scare, a diesel VW Rabbit. It was underpowered, dirty and smelly.

I’m one of these “eat your own dog food” guys. I recently went out and bought a VW Touareg V10 TDI. It’s a 325 horsepower, 525 foot pounds of torque clean diesel monster that’s faster and handles better than the Porsche Cayenne. It’s clean, it’s powerful and it gets 24 miles to the gallon. The Cayenne only gets 11! It’s more powerful, with better mileage and runs on 100% renewable fuel. I said to myself, “this is your cake and getting to eat it, too!” I’ve sold all my gas cars. Everything I drive now is diesel.

There’s a market for kooky electric vehicles. But what’s going to get mainstream America excited? I believe it’s clean biodiesel in contemporary cars.