BlackGold was founded in 2004 as a subsidiary of The Energy Cooperative, a
Philadelphia-based member-owned energy company. In 2005, BlackGold opened
the first R&D facility in the country exclusively dedicated to deriving biodiesel from
sewer greases. Here BlackGold developed its landmark FOG-to-Fuel® technology
and established the proof of concept prototype. The company established a formal
collaboration with the US Department of Agriculture, working intensively with their
industry-renowned team of PhD biodiesel research scientists. In 2006 BlackGold
successfully road-tested its fuel in more than 50 vehicles, over 20,000 miles.
These vehicles represented a cross-section of the diesel market and duty cycles,
from multi-ton school buses to light passenger cars. Participants included Great
Valley School District, the City of Philadelphia, AAA MidAtlantic, Temple University
Facilities Department, and the University of Pennsylvania, as well as many citizens
from the region. BlackGold spun out from The Energy Cooperative in 2007. The
first commercial FOG-to-Fuel® system came online in 2010 at the Oceanside Water
Pollution Control Plant for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

BlackGold has received the following honors:
Imagine H20: 2011 Water-Energy Nexus Innovation Prize
IMPACT: 2011 Venture Summit Mid-Atlantic Top 100 Private Companies
BusinessWeek.com: America’s 25 Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs
Water Environment Federation: Chair, Biofuels Task Force
AlwaysOn: Top 50 East Coast Cleantech Companies
SJF Ventures Cleantech Fellow 2010
NY Venture Summit: 2010 Top Innovator
National Biodiesel Board: Chair, Sustainability Task Force
Good Company Ventures Fellow 2009
State of Pennsylvania: Governor’s Renewable Energy Leadership Award