ODENSE, DENMARK - Bus drivers, firefighters and other Odense employees can operate their vehicles with a clean, green conscience when the Funen city begins its new rapeseed oil project in the coming months, reported by MetroXpress newspaper on Friday, according to http://www.cphpost.dk.

The DKK 11 million project is a collaborative effort by the City of Odense, the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Egeskov Farms, and organic foods company Aarstiderne. The project is the country’s most ambitious biofuel venture to date.

"It’s a unique opportunity to put the focus on alternative fuel sources for the increasing number of vehicles on our city streets," Odense’s mayor, Jan Boye, stated in a press release.

In addition to city vehicles being powered by fuel from cold-pressed rapeseed oil, several private companies in the area have also volunteered their vehicles for the project.

The government has set aside DKK 60 million over the next two years for rapeseed oil research in an effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Rapeseed oil-based fuels are already in widespread use in Germany, where an estimated 30,000 vehicles use the green fuel.

The government and those behind the project hope it will lead to other municipalities switching over to the environmentally-friendly fuel source. DTU is in charge of monitoring the results of the project.