The Associated Press

EUGENE — Look for a new soybean- and corn-powered fill-up station in Eugene-Springfield this fall.

SeQuential Biofuels, a fuel marketer and distributor in Eugene and Portland, plans to open an alternative-fuel service station in September or October in Eugene.

Biofuels — typically made from grain or bean oils — can be found alongside some gasoline pumps around the nation, but the proposed SeQuential station is a pioneering effort because all the fuels it would offer would be earth-friendly to some degree, managing partner Ian Hill said.

SeQuential’s project represents a three-way partnership with Lane County and the state Department of Environmental Quality.

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Hill said SeQuential expects to spend about $1 million starting up the station.

The station would hire up to eight employees, boost property tax revenue and be an option for motorists who want alternatives to gasoline, said Jeff Turk, a Lane County property management officer.

The station would offer two kinds of fuel. One, for diesel engines, would be a blend of diesel and biodiesel, he said. The biodiesel would be made from soybeans and vegetable oil waste from restaurants and the food industry. The other type of fuel, for gasoline engines, would be blends of gasoline and ethanol, which is distilled from grains such as corn, Hill said.

Consumers would be able to choose from varying blends with varying percentages of biodiesel or ethanol. They also could buy pure biodiesel, which runs 50 cents to $1 more per gallon than petroleum diesel, Hill said.

Biofuels burn more cleanly than petroleum, can help the United States shift from the use of foreign oil, and can increase the use of sustainable domestic crops, Hill said.

"We see the flowering of the sustainable business movement with organic foods at grocery stores, we see the blooming of recycled products from paper and plastic," Hill said. "But we see a real lack of that happening at the retail fuel level. We’d like to let the market make the decision on whether it’s a viable business or not."