Transesterification of a vegetable oil was conducted as
early as 1853, by scientists E. Duffy and J. Patrick, many years before the first diesel engine became functional.
   Rudolf Diesel's prime model, a single 10 ft (3 m) iron
cylinder with a flywheel at its base, ran on its own power
for the first time in Augsburg, Germany on August 10,
1893. In remembrance of this event, August 10 has been declared International Biodiesel Day. Diesel later demonstrated his engine and received the "Grand Prix" (highest prize) at the World Fair in Paris, France in 1900.
   This engine stood as an example of Diesel's vision because
it was powered by peanut oil—a biofuel, though not strictly biodiesel, since it was not transesterified. He believed that the utilization of a biomass fuel was the real future of his engine.
   In a 1912 speech, Rudolf Diesel said "the use of
vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today,
but such oils may become, in the course of time,

as important as petroleum and the coal-tar products of the present time."
   During the 1920s diesel engine manufacturers altered their engines to utilize the lower viscosity of the fossil fuel (petrodiesel) rather than vegetable oil, a biomass fuel. The petroleum industries were able to make inroads in fuel markets because their fuel was much cheaper to produce than the biomass alternatives. The result was, for many years, a near elimination of the biomass fuel production infrastructure. Only recently have environmental impact concerns and a decreasing cost differential made biomass fuels such as biodiesel a growing alternative.
   The revival of biodiesel production started with farm co-operatives in the 1980s in Austria, but in 1991 the first industrial-scale plant opened in Aschach, also in Austria, with a capacity in excess of 10,000 m³ per year. Throughout the 1990s, plants were opened in many European countries, including the Czech Republic, France, Germany, and Sweden. At the same time, nations in other parts of world also saw local production of biodiesel starting up and by 1998; the Austrian Biofuels Institute identified 21 countries with commercial biodiesel projects.
   In the 1990s, France launched the local production of biodiesel fuel (known locally as diester) obtained by the transesterification of rapeseed oil. It is mixed to the proportion of 5 % into regular diesel fuel, and to the proportion of 30 % into the diesel fuel used by some captive fleets (public transportation). Renault, Peugeot, and other manufacturers have certified truck engines for use with up to this partial biodiesel. Experiments with 50 % biodiesel are underway.

Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel (1858-1913)

The concept of using vegetable oil as a fuel dates back to 1895 when Dr. Rudolf Diesel developed the first diesel engine to run on vegetable oil. He demonstrated his engine at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 and described an experiment using peanut oil as fuel in his engine.

In 1911 Rudolf Diesel stated: "The diesel engine can be fed with vegetable oils and would help considerably in the development of agriculture of the countries which use it."

 In 1912, Diesel said "the use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today. But such oils may become in course of time as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time."