Europeans seem to be as keen on alternative fuels as their American counterparts… maybe even more so. This article from the Budapest-based on-line financial journal, Portfolio.hu, says the country is about to open it’s biggest biodiesel operation to date.

Öko-Line Hungary Kft. will start production at the country’s largest biodiesel plant near Bábolna (northwest Hungary) in May, with an initial output of 25,000 tonnes, Gergely Novák, the company’s business development manager said.

The company plans to double annual capacity to 50,000 tonnes from 2008, Novák added.

If my math is right (and please correct me if I’m wrong), I believe that means the plant will be producing about 7.5 million gallons of biodiesel a year and is expected to reach more than 15 million gallons a year next year.

The story goes on to say that Hungary has a couple of other biodiesel plants, but the output is only about one-tenth that the new one will be. The Hungarians seem to be also having some of the same questions we’re having in this country: Will it make money? The new operation was originally built about 10 years ago, but investors went bankrupt. Of course, oil was much cheaper then.