Springboard to the future

Springboard Biodiesel (www.springboardbiodiesel.com) is a Chico company that manufactures small-scale, fully automated biodiesel processors. Biodiesel is a less-polluting alternative to petroleum-based diesel fuel made from waste vegetable oil.

The company is competing for a $250,000 grant that could accelerate the development and implementation of what it believes is a game-changing biodiesel production system.

The grant is being offered by PepsiCo through its “RefreshEverything” campaign. Springboard has submitted a proposal—titled “Build a Network of Low-Cost Multi-feedstock Biodiesel Production Sites”—but needs online votes to win. The proposal can be viewed and voted for at http://tiny.cc/JiOmj.

Company President Matthew Roberts is asking readers to bookmark the site and log on daily throughout February to cast a vote for Springboard’s proposal. Currently the proposal is ranked 38th, up already from 97th on Feb. 1.

It’s not exactly “your classic venture-capital financing strategy,” Roberts acknowledges in an e-mail message, but “we think it could work, and after all, that’s what small companies do—improvise! … With your help, your daily vote and your successful spreading of the message, you will have the potential to directly impact our product, and our industry!”