G.M. buys stake in ethanol made from waste
Alternative means of producing
alternative fuels.
General Motors, eager to ensure a supply of fuel for
the big fleet of flex-fuel ethanol-capable vehicles it is
building, has joined the rush into alternative energy and invested in a company
that intends to produce ethanol from crop wastes, wood chips, scrap plastic,
rubber and even municipal garbage.
The company purchased an equity stake in Coskata, a start-up company in Warrenville, Ill., that plans to make ethanol without using corn. G.M. would not say how much it paid or how big a stake it took in the company…
Coskata is not the only company pursuing the gas-to-bacteria-to-fuel route, but claims its process gives more ethanol per ton of raw material — 100 gallons — and uses less water, less than one gallon for each gallon of ethanol.
William Roe, CEO, said that “at full production, Coskata ethanol should be 50 cents to $1 cheaper than gasoline at the pump,” and that the total production cost would be under $1 a gallon when the fuel begins flowing in 2010 or 2011. Mary Beth Stanek, G.M.’s director for energy and environment, said the process showed “near-term readiness” and that no scientific work was involved to commercialize it.
“It’s literally just physical building,” she said.
We’ve been commenting for a spell on alternatives to food crop-based alternative fuels. Costs and environmental impact are both reduced in the quotient.
Since the only remaining portion of this project is the physical plant and ramping-up, we should see how this works out in just a few years.
The company purchased an equity stake in Coskata, a start-up company in Warrenville, Ill., that plans to make ethanol without using corn. G.M. would not say how much it paid or how big a stake it took in the company…
Coskata is not the only company pursuing the gas-to-bacteria-to-fuel route, but claims its process gives more ethanol per ton of raw material — 100 gallons — and uses less water, less than one gallon for each gallon of ethanol.
William Roe, CEO, said that “at full production, Coskata ethanol should be 50 cents to $1 cheaper than gasoline at the pump,” and that the total production cost would be under $1 a gallon when the fuel begins flowing in 2010 or 2011. Mary Beth Stanek, G.M.’s director for energy and environment, said the process showed “near-term readiness” and that no scientific work was involved to commercialize it.
“It’s literally just physical building,” she said.
We’ve been commenting for a spell on alternatives to food crop-based alternative fuels. Costs and environmental impact are both reduced in the quotient.
Since the only remaining portion of this project is the physical plant and ramping-up, we should see how this works out in just a few years.
Posted: Mon - January 14, 2008 at 09:13 AM