<p>Two seniors at Princeton have developed a new method for biodiesel production and have formed a company to manufacture the product. </p>
<p>The senior thesis
Fueling a start-up company</p>
<p>Douville and Lowery have invented a more efficient way to produce biodiesel, a plant-based fuel that has been around since the 19th century but was eclipsed by oil around the turn of the century.</p>
<p>Were hitting this at a time when the field is exploding, said Lowery. </p>
<p>Lowery and Douvilles invention is the basis of both their senior independent work and their company, Axios Energy LLC.</p>
<p>With the help of John Ritter at the Universitys Office of Technology Licensing, Lowery and Douville have filed for a provisional patent. The two praised Ritter for his support and also gave enormous credit to their adviser, assistant professor Craig Arnold. He is the most amazing professor, said Lowery. He has been supportive at every turn.</p>
<p>By this spring, the partners said they were in the process of securing $1.5 million in funding for Axios Energy. In a second step, they hope to raise $30 million more to open a manufacturing plant in the New York/New Jersey port area that they say would be one of the five largest in the country. One of the venture capitalists who read their business plan told me it was one of the best he had ever seen, Arnold said.</p>