GM in second US cellulosic ethanol venture

01 May 2008 21:11  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--General Motors  (GM) on Thursday announced a partnership with biotech company Mascoma in a deal the US vehicle maker said complemented an earlier investment in cellulosic ethanol.

Under the new deal with Mascoma, the two companies will develop cellulosic ethanol using Mascoma's single-step conversion of non-grain biomass into low-carbon biofuel.

In January, GM invested in a cellulosic ethanol start-up called Coskata, which uses a thermo-chemical process to make the biofuel from non-edible sources.

No financial details for either deal have been disclosed.

"Taken together, these technologies represent what we see as the best in the cellulosic ethanol future," said GM president Fritz Henderson.

No financial details were available.

The US is touting cellulosic ethanol as a means to achieve alternative fuels consumption targets set under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).

The RFS will require the US to use 36bn gal (136bn litres)/year of renewable fuels in 2022. At least 16bn gal/year of that amount must be based on cellulose.

Unlike standard ethanol, which in the US is made from corn, cellulosic biofuels are made from crops such as leaves, stems, stalks and wood chips.

“Ethanol has the greatest near-term potential as a clean-burning, renewable fuel that can help reduce oil dependence," Henderson said in a statement.

GM also said that demonstrating the viability of sustainable non-grain based ethanol is critical to develop infrastructure for the US flex-fuel vehicle (FFV) market.

The company has manufactured more than 40% of the 7m FFVs now on US roads.

US FFVs can run on gasoline and E85 – a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline – or in any combination of the two.

The lack of popularity of FFVs among US drivers has been caused chiefly by a lack of fuel stations equipped with E-85 pumps.

For more on ethanol visit ICIS chemical intelligence

Bookmark Simon Robinson’s Big Biofuels Blog for some independent thinking on biofuels

By: William Lemos
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