Martin Tobias, who stepped down as Imperium's CEO in December, marked the first of many changes for Imperium in 2008..

The biofuels industry is experiencing growing pains, and it seems no company is feeling them more than Seattle-based Imperium Renewables.

The layoffs came half a year after the sudden departure of former CEO Martian Tobias in December 2008. Shortly after Tobias left the company, Imperium announced it would delay a planned IPO. The company then laid off an undisclosed number of employees before finally canceling plans to build a new plant in Hawaii. The plant cancellation and closure of the Hawaii office throws into question the viability of a contract signed late last year between Imperium and Hawaii Electric Co. for the delivery of 5 million to 12 million gallons of biodiesel per year.

"There are concerns," says Peter Rosegg, a spokesman for the utility. "But our position is that we have a contract. There is nothing in it that specifies where the biodiesel has to come from. We would like for it to come from a local plant, but it could come from Gray’s Harbor or a third party."

How stable Imperium continues to be for the longterm is anyone’s guess at this point. John Williams, a spokesman for the company, declined to comment on such questions, but did say "The company is working through challenges that all biodiesel suppliers are facing." He agreed the rise in feedstock prices is one issue Imperium is facing, though he would not cite any others.

Rob Elam, founder and CEO of Seattle-based Propel Biofuels says Imperium continues be one of his company’s suppliers. He noted, however, that it is a tough time for the biofuels industry. "As price pressures have mounted and eased in the last month or so, it was challenging to produce biodiesel at a profit," he said. "We make money on the product we move."

Nikola Davidson, director of the Northwest Biofuels Association, wouldn’t comment directly on Imperium’s future. Though she says she agrees the sector is having problems, she says she feels there is a light at the end of the tunnel. "With biodiesel, there are so many possibilities coming to fruition in the next couple of years," she says, "I really feel that we’re feeling the roughest patch now."