A new fuel testing laboratory will be dedicated this afternoon near the Fort Dodge campus of Iowa Central Community College.
Iowa Central President Jesse Ulrich says the work started there 20 years ago when they first began testing biodiesel in truck engines.
“What that led to was a smaller lab that was on our campus in our Biohealth and Science Building, and then we’ve really just outgrown that space,” Ulrich says. “We have major contracts with most major gas stations across the country, and specifically here in Iowa.”
The Fort Dodge lab is where fuel from all over the state is put through a battery of tests.
“What that means for the average Iowan is, when you pull up to the gas tank and you see ’87’ and then you see some specific numbers underneath of there in the fuel,” Ulrich says, “we’re actually double-checking those numbers to make sure that they’re accurate and make sure that the fuel you’re putting in your tank is the best, highest grade fuel that it can be.”
Ulrich says Governor Kim Reynolds and Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig plan to attend the dedication at the new facility, which has an additional 10,000 square feet of testing space.
“We received a $2-million grant through the Department of Ag to do new tests on engines,” he says, “and part of the testing engine capabilities will allow us to be able to test aviation biofuel, which obviously is the new wave coming across America, and hopefully an up-and-coming fuel source for Americans, and something that will keep biofuel alive and healthy for the state of Iowa and our economy.”
The lab was built on the lot of a former Casey’s store on the west side of Fort Dodge. The ceremony begins at 3:30 p.m.
(Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)