In the arsenal of alternative energy sources, biofuels have their place (many hope it is a temporary one, but that's another story). Along with its obvious upsides are concerns about the amount of energy spent to produce the final fuel product and that competition for corn -- the most common source of biofuel in the U.S. to date -- results in higher costs. (Check the price of your tortilla chips if you don't believe me.)
General Motors thinks it has found a company with solutions to those problems: Illinois-based Coskata. Using microorganisms to convert biomass to biofuel, the company claims to do it more efficiently, flexibly and cheaply than anyone else.
Re: Efficiency. Coskata's production process uses less than a gallon of water to make a gallon of ethanol and returns more than seven times the energy it uses to make the biofuel. In contrast, other processes can use three gallons of water and the most charitable reports for corn estimate a 1:1 ratio of energy spent:energy returned.
Re: Flexibility. Coskata can convert almost any carbon-based material to biofuel -- they cite biomass, municipal and agricultural wastes, forest residuals and
bagasse as examples -- meaning they can set up production facilities anywhere.
Re: Cost. Coskata President and CEO Bill Roe says that it will cost less than a dollar to produce a gallon of ethanol "almost anywhere in the world" using his company's process. Again, for comparison's sake, I've found cost estimates for ethanol from corn that range anywhere from $1.05 per gallon up to $2.21.
The recently-passed energy bill requires 36 billion gallons of ethanol by 2025, which is well over 20 percent of the U.S. fuel supply. It is clear that corn is not going to get us there, and it seems wise for GM to get ahead of the curve by ensuring that this fuel alternative is produced in sufficient quantities.
The partnership seems practical -- for two examples, Coskata can make ethanol from some of the residual materials in vehicle recycling (helping GM plants achieve zero-waste status) and GM is helping Coskata apply for Department of Energy funding in February.
GM's financial support is going to help Coskata get its pilot plant up and running within a few short weeks and a commercial-scale demonstration operational by the end of the year (fuel from this plant will be used at the Milford proving grounds). The goal is to have a 100 million gallon per year plant by early 2011.
Both companies agree on the importance of quick commercialization of the process -- and GM has the worldwide reach that can help Coskata get there.
It will be interesting to see if other manufacturers create similar partnerships with energy producers in the coming months and years.
An extremely comprehensive overview of Coskata and the company's partnership with GM can be found at AutoBlogGreen -- it includes audio interviews with some key players.
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
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