Iowa Central to Host Nation’s Only Independent Testing Lab for Ethanol, Biodiesel

by Pat Powers (KQWC/Radio Iowa) Iowa Central Community College broke ground this week on what will become its new Biofuels Testing Laboratory on the west side of Fort Dodge. Iowa Central President Jesse Ulrich says it will be a welcome addition to the campus and it’ll be the only independent biofuels testing lab in the country.

“This was something that was started at Iowa Central back in the mid 2000s,” Ulrich says. “We worked with a local trucking company, Decker Truck Lines, to really test out the difference between regular fuel and biofuel within the trucking industry.”

He says the planned state-of-the-art lab will be the end result of very humble beginnings.

“It’s something that really started kind of out of a closet, a very small operation, and moved into the Biohealth Science Building. We’ve just continued to grow and expand,” Ulrich says. “As a part of our 2018 public bond referendum, that our community supported, there was some money set aside to build a new testing lab.”

The land on which the lab will be built didn’t cost Iowa Central anything, as it had been occupied by a Casey’s convenience store.

“When Casey’s did strategic planning and eliminated that store for use, we contacted Casey’s and heard our vision about what we wanted to do with the property in regards to the biofuel lab, and they thought it was a win-win for everyone,” he says. “We’re very fortunate that Casey’s donated that property to us.”

Excerpt from Iowa Central: The Iowa Central Biofuels Testing Lab first got its start in a small space in the Science Building on the Fort Dodge Campus.

Originally designed as a teaching lab, it quickly outgrew its original space and relocated to the first floor of the Bioscience and Health Sciences Building when it first opened in 2009.

“We originally started out from a grant that was to start a 2-year biofuels program, that was around 2005,” said Don Heck, director of the fuel lab.

As the lab grew, it became the first independent testing facility of its kind in the United States.

“Not many schools have these labs,” said Heck. “There is not another lab in the nation with this functionality that is located at a community college.”

The Iowa Central lab also serves as a testing lab for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

“We are the official lab for weights and measures,” said Heck. “When the state needs that done, it all goes through Iowa Central.

As the demand for additional fuel testing increases, so will the need for more staff and equipment.

The first step in making a larger space for the lab a reality took place Monday, July 17 during a groundbreaking for a new fuel testing lab located west of the Iowa Central campus on A Street West just off U.S. Highway 169.

The new lab will be a 9,200 square foot facility with room for more testing equipment and inventory as well as the possibility of additional staff. It will feature an engine room where future testing of octane cetane for fuels can be conducted.

“There will be a specialized room for octane testing,” said Heck. “This building is being designed for that testing and the engines; anticipating that we will be getting them at some point in the future if not right away.”

The expanded facility may also open the door to other forms of fuel testing to be conducted in Fort Dodge, such as sustainable aviation fuel, as well as bring more fuel manufacturing to the state.

“Having jet fuel capabilities would expand the options for what fuels the state can test,” said Heck. “It would make it possible for sustainable jet fuel manufacturers to come into Iowa and test their products in state.”

The larger facility will allow each employee to have office space. Presently, there are three offices for six employees in the current lab area.

“The new space will make things much more functional,” said Heck. “And with more space and capabilities we could eventually double our staff.”

The lab will be constructed with the main entrance and parking lot facing west. Open space to the north of the facility would leave room for future expansion.

“Iowa Central has become a dominant presence in the biofuels testing industry, Iowa Central President Dr. Jesse Ulrich said during the groundbreaking. “We don’t plan to stop anytime soon.”