WINNIPEG — A pilot project by the Manitoba government and a local trucking firm shows that ultra-low sulfur biodiesel can survive in some of Canada’s harshest climates.

The Winnipeg Free Press reports that 21-truck private fleet Border Chemical spent the winter running its trucks on a blend of B5 (five percent biodiesel) and 95 percent USLD with very positive results.

The pilot, which ran from last October to the end of March, showed that biodiesel worked just fine in long-haul lanes when temperatures dipped below -40 C, said Border Chemical’s general manager Dennis Smerchanski.

While biodiesel and ethanol are two alternative fuels being hyped by governments at every level, many truckers have been skeptical.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance, for example, has called for conclusive studies on the characteristics of the boutique fuel in cold weather as well as its reaction with new, smog free engines running on ULSD, before any government mandates are introduced.

For at least one fleet in Winnipeg, biodiesel has passed the test.

Border Chemical manufactures sulphuric acid and liquid alum, hauling it to Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., Thunder Bay, Ont. and the northern U.S. states.

Manitoba has eliminated its 11.5 cent a liter road tax on fuel while Ottawa has set a target for mandating B2 biodiesel by 2012.

— with files from the Winnipeg Free Press