To earn carbon credits, industries that use biofuels to cut carbon emissions need to know what’s in the fuels they burn, but current methods to measure the renewable carbon in biofuels are expensive, slow and complex. To solve this problem, Hidex has partnered with the André E. Lalonde National Facility for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AEL-AMS) to prove their new method for providing faster, more affordable biofuel analysis to companies world-wide.

Hidex is a Finland-based firm that manufactures equipment for measuring low levels of radioactivity. The company noticed a need for a simpler and cheaper biofuel testing method.

“Companies were contacting us wanting to know how much biogenic carbon was in their biofuels,” says Ari Lehmusvuori, liquid scintillation counter (LSC) product line manager at Hidex.

“Especially industries that use a lot of energy, like cement manufacturing, showed early interest. The more fossil CO₂ in their emissions, the more it costs them in taxes.”

When Hidex realized that their Ultra Low-Level Analyzer (ULLA) LSC could be used to analyze biofuels, the company decided to invest in developing the Hidex Biofuel Method. Once complete, they partnered with AEL-AMS to further validate their new method for measuring the renewable carbon in biofuel.  

Measuring radiocarbon in biofuels

The established way to estimate how much renewable carbon is in a biofuel is by measuring its radioactive carbon, which is a substance produced in the atmosphere and found naturally in the bodies of living things. After death, no more radiocarbon can be taken into a body, and so its quantity will slowly decrease over time due to radioactive decay. In samples older than 50,000 years, practically no radioactive carbon remains. This means that ancient carbon, from fossil fuels, has no radiocarbon, but carbon from modern sources does. So, the more radiocarbon in a biofuel, the more renewable carbon it contains. 

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is the gold standard for measuring radiocarbon. It provides precise results, but it is expensive, slow and requires specialized equipment and expertise. The Hidex Biofuel Method uses liquid scintillation counting to detect radiocarbon in biofuels in less time and with less sample preparation than AMS. For companies that routinely test biofuel samples, this method could be a great option.

However, companies and regulators must be sure that Hidex’s Biofuel Method will match results measured with AMS. That’s why Hidex asked AEL-AMS to thoroughly compare the two methods. The work at AEL-AMS will help prove the Hidex Biofuel Method as a reliable alternative to the traditional international standard (AMS). 

A partnership producing results

Since 2014, the AEL-AMS has been Canada’s national centre for AMS. It provides high-quality radioisotope measurements and method development services to clients worldwide. The facility has a radiocarbon sample preparation lab, a carbon-only AMS machine, and two Hidex ULLAs. This combination of state-of-the-art equipment and expertise was exactly what Hidex was looking for.

“We developed a method for measuring biogenic carbon percentage in solid recovered fuels. It was good, but there was room for improvement,” Lehmusvuori explained. “AEL-AMS has the reference method, which is AMS. So, we can compare the exact same sample, measured with two different methods.”

With support from Hidex, AEL-AMS hired Liam Jasperse as the full-time research technician for the project. Since July 2025, he has been working closely with Hidex scientists on preparing samples of liquid and solid biocarbon to be analyzed for radiocarbon using the ULLA. He has also been verifying those results by testing the same samples using AMS. 

“The early results Liam has shared look excellent,” says Lehmusvuori. So far, Jasperse has recorded radiocarbon measurements on the Hidex ULLA that are within ±3% of AMS values. This is a very promising first step towards meeting international biofuel testing standards.

For Jasperse, the work is more than simply producing radiocarbon results. “I am really enjoying this project. It has been an opportunity to test new ideas and improve methods through close industry–academia collaboration.” The team plans to publish their results in a peer-reviewed journal to show that the Hidex Biofuel Method is a reliable way of validating the renewable carbon content of biofuels.

The future of biofuel testing

This new approach to biofuel analysis will offer a cost-effective way for carbon-intensive industries to verify the renewable carbon content of their biofuels for regulatory reporting and to earn carbon credits. 

“The only internationally recognized method for determining biofuel content is by radiocarbon analysis, yet there are no labs certified to do this here in Canada," explains Jasperse. "

Given our radiocarbon expertise, it is our goal at AEL and Hidex to prove that our simpler method is as good as the international standard. This could rewrite Canadian testing procedures, create opportunities for biofuel authentication here in Canada, serve Canadian businesses and bring in international clients.” 

With access to both reference-grade AMS capabilities, and new low-cost screening tools, AEL-AMS is positioning itself as an international hub for biofuel authentication and carbon accounting. The facility expects to begin accepting client samples in 2026.

This article was developed in collaboration with the University of Ottawa. The original text is credited to uOttawa and can be read here.

Hidex ULLA Ultra Low Level AnalyzerHidex 600 OX Oxidizer Standard