Perot Jain-backed Booster was founded in 2014 out of Fort Worth’s AllianceTexas, before moving its HQ to San Mateo, California. Booster has raised over $108M in funding, and now operates in California, Texas, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C. By partnering with REG, it aims to help fleets switch to renewables, cutting carbon emissions in the fight against climate change.
Cities and companies across the U.S. own fleets of cars and trucks that spew carbon into the atmosphere daily—accounting for over 27% of total transportation sector emissions. Curbing all that carbon isn’t as easy as flicking a switch to EVs. These fleets will be running on diesel and other fuels for many years—if not decades—to come.
That’s why switching from regular fuels to renewables is seen as increasingly vital in the fight against climate change—and why two companies have teamed up to help make it happen.
Booster Fuels—a mobile fuel delivery service founded in 2014 out of Fort Worth’s AllianceTexas—is partnering with Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group (REG) to provide mobile delivery of renewable diesel, biodiesel, and blended fuels to fleets.
Renewable fuels can significantly reduce emissions. But since most gas stations in the U.S. don’t carry these products, Booster was founded partly as a way to bring renewables directly to fleet vehicles with its mini-tankers, on demand.
Now based in San Mateo, California, Booster began providing its new service with REG in California in August, with the potential to grow it nationally.
“This new service will let companies seamlessly transition their fleets to much lower-emission fuels without incurring additional expenses, said Frank Mycroft, co-founder & CEO of Booster Fuels, in a statement.
“Our partnership with REG will provide fleet operators with a first-of-its-kind ‘easy button’ to solve their sustainability, energy reliability, and fuel cost needs,” he added.
Booster’s Dallas co-founder: ‘Good news for every market’
Tyler Raugh, co-founder and president of Booster, helms the company’s hub in Dallas and lauded the new collaboration.
“Booster’s partnership with REG is good news for every market, including Dallas,” Raugh told Dallas Innovates. “We’re solving a business problem by providing easier access through mobile delivery of quality renewable fuels, which are largely unavailable in gas stations. This collaboration creates commercial solutions for fleets that want to operate more sustainably without increasing their costs.”
Partnership meets a longtime Booster goal
“When we started Booster, we envisioned an energy agnostic network that would solve the supply and demand dilemma associated with bringing new sustainable fuels to market,” Raugh wrote on LinkedIn. “This new service enables fleets to decarbonize TODAY, without building new infrastructure, changing a fleet’s vehicles or making a capital expenditure.”
“If you’re looking to make a difference and decarbonize the last mile, we’re hiring,” Raugh added.
Dallas City Council approved ‘mobile fueling on demand’ in 2020
Last year, Dallas Innovates wrote about Booster’s founding and a move by the Dallas City Council to allow “mobile fueling on demand” within the city.
To date, Booster has raised $108 million in funding from Dallas-based Perot Jain and other firms including Invus Opportunities, Conversion Capital, Enterprise Holdings Ventures, Madrona Venture Group, Maveron, Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures, and Vulcan Capital.
REG becomes an investor in Booster
As part of the partnership, REG will be an exclusive supplier of bio-based diesel to Booster, and has become an investor in the company. For its part, Booster will be an exclusive mobile fueler to REG and will partner with REG to explore expansion opportunities together nationwide.
The collaboration will initially focus on servicing fleet customers in California’s San Francisco Bay Area and Orange County, with additional markets to follow.
Leveraging Booster’s last-mile tech platform and proprietary mini-tankers
The Booster/REG collaboration makes low-carbon fuels more accessible to clients, the companies say, noting that REG’s bio-based diesel is “easy to adopt” and immediately begins reducing fossil carbon emissions.
Under the new partnership, REG UltraClean Blend and other renewable and biodiesel fuels will be delivered to customers via Booster’s proprietary mini-tanker trucks, last-mile tech platform, and certified drivers.
Booster’s data intelligence platform will give fleet managers key insights into their daily operations, including emissions savings, the company says.
‘The energy transition is happening’
Bob Kenyon, SVP of sales and marketing at REG, says the collaboration “is a perfect match for us, bringing together two innovative, sustainable solutions and building on our downstream strategy to reach customers and provide a first-class experience.”
“The energy transition is happening,” he added, “and this is the right place and right time for consumers to rethink adoption of biofuels. Our investment in Booster solidifies our commitment to enabling consumers with the ability to access clean fuel choices.”
Analysts back up Kenyon’s viewpoint.
According to S&P Global Platts Analytics, US biodiesel production is forecast to reach 4.081 billion gallons annually by 2025, a stunning rise of 760% from 2020 levels.
Asim Anand, senior editor of S&P Global, notes that according to average analysts’ estimates, U.S. biodiesel production in 2021 is forecast at 750 million gallons, up 36% year on year. For 2022, the output is projected around 2 billion gallons, almost four times the levels seen in 2020. “With each passing year, the rate of biodiesel production is slated to rise significantly,” Anand says.
How the service helps the environment
On average, Booster’s fuel delivery service reduces the need for 2.2 vehicle miles traveled, the company says. With the addition of REG’s Ultra Clean blend, the two companies say they can reduce particulate matter by more than 40%, carbon monoxide by more than 25%, total hydrocarbons by more than 20%, and NOx by 10%.
Any vehicle that uses conventional diesel can use renewable diesel without updates or modifications. According to a USDA report, biodiesel and renewable diesel offer a proven approach for “decarbonizing the medium- and heavy-duty truck and freight transportation sectors.”
