Kreido targeting 100M gallons of biodiesel a year

Kreido Biofuels (OTCBB: KRBF) of Camarillo, California told investors that it's on track to reach its goal of producing 100 million gallons of biodiesel by the end of 2008.

In return, investors sent its stock up 7 percent, or $.08, to close at $1.13.

In a business update conference call late in the day yesterday, the company said it had made significant strides since closing on a $25 million private placement deal in January (details in the Cleantech Group's Time to start a Chinese solar co.) and completing a reverse takeover that took the company public, according to CEO Joel Balbien.

“Our multi-pronged strategy of developing our own biodiesel production plants in the U.S. and licensing our patented 'spinning tube in tube,' or STT, technology to domestic and international third-party biodiesel producers helps ensure our ability to capitalize on what we believe is a superior process intensification technology,” Balbien said.

Kreido claims it's spent seven years and $20 million developing its STT reactor to speed up chemical reactions. It says its technology significantly improves the efficiency, quality and process control of biodiesel production.

The company’s primary goal is to have a full-scale production plant operating by the first quarter of 2008 in either Chicago or Wilmington, N.C., executives said.

Kreido has been experimenting with feedstocks including degummed soy bean oil, refined palm, jatropha, canola, castor and soy oil.

Kreido ended the first quarter of 2007 with cash and cash equivalents of approximately $21.0 million and has incurred $1.5 million in plant construction costs as of March 31, 2007.

Biodiesel maker Imperium Renewables is also targeting 100 million gallons a year at its plants, leveraging its own proprietary technology. Its first plant is to begin production next month.