NextCAT, Inc, a Wayne State University startup company, has received a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research Award of $498,830 from the National Science Foundation. The goal of the company is to commercialize a catalyst that will cost effectively convert waste vegetable oil, animal fats, and residual corn oil into biodiesel fuel. Economic projections are that the catalyst would provide a production cost savings of at least one dollar per gallon, dramatically changing the economics of a biodiesel plant.