Axiom's revised initial public offering is expected to raise the funds necessary for it to proceed with its proposed 150 megalitres per annum biodiesel facility in Victoria.

Prior to beginning its own production, Axiom has negotiated the importation of comparable biodiesel products from Malaysia for use in the Linfox trial, giving the Australian trucking giant the opportunity to assess the potential benefits of the fuel.

Linfox chief executive Michael Byrne told PNN sister publication Transport Industry News

the two main drivers of the trial were the price of fuel and interest in environmentally-friendly alternative fuels from many of the company's customers.

"The trial will involve mainly assessments on the truck's involved performance, repairs and maintenance, power ratios, how the engines perform, if there are any side-effects from using it, what the responsiveness of the engine is in different situations, what our carbon emissions are and also if there are any savings," he said.

Byrne said previous preliminary trials with other alternate fuels indicated torque ratio was down and engine warranties from truck manufacturers were being voided.

The current trial is expected to go for at least a year and will aim to address these issues.

Axiom managing director Danny Goldman said Linfox was the first major Australian trucking company to publicly announce the importance of biodiesel to its fuel strategy, although smaller companies are also reported to be taking place in Axiom's commercial trials.

As part of its business model, Axiom has secured a 20-year lease for a site at the Port of Geelong from Toll Holdings, where it plans to build its production facility, one of the largest proposed plants in the country.

The site is located close to Refinery Pier, for receiving raw materials and distribution of biodiesel by road, rail and sea.

"Our business model has been framed to ensure that a majority of our supply will be sold into the mainstream 15 billion litres per annum diesel market and the company will offer users a saving to promote the use of this environmentally friendly fuel," Goldman said.

Axiom was forced to withdraw its oversubscribed $A37.6 million IPO bid last year due to tax conditions relating to its plans to produce biodiesel from waste plastics, which would have accounted for 20% of its operations.

The company's revised IPO opened last week, and the company claims it has received strong pre-registration interest from investors disappointed by the withdrawal of the 2005 IPO.

Axiom's new IPO is designed to raise $A36 million, with some 51.5 million shares on offer at 70c each.

The offer closes on October 20, 2006.