GM and Coskata to develop fuel from waste
21-JAN-2008
General Motors has announced a partnership with Coskata Inc. to use the company's technology that makes ethanol from renewable sources, including municipal waste, old tyres and plant waste.
Coskata uses a proprietary process that leverages patented microorganisms and bioreactor designs to produce ethanol for less than US $1 a gallon, about half of today's cost of producing gasoline.
'We are very excited about what this breakthrough will mean to the viability of biofuels and, more importantly, to our ability to reduce dependence on petroleum,' GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said.
According to Argonne National Laboratory, which analyzed Coskata's process, for every unit of energy used, it generates up to 7.7 times that amount of energy, and it reduces CO2 emissions by up to 84 percent compared with a well-to-wheel analysis of gasoline.
GM will receive the first ethanol from Coskata's pilot plant in the fourth quarter of 2008. The fuel will be used in testing vehicles at GM's Milford Proving Grounds.
The timing of the GM-Coskata partnership coincides with President Bush's recent signing of the Energy Independence and Security Act, which calls for a dramatic increase in biofuels – from 7.5 billion US gallons in 2012 to 36 billion US gallons in 2022.
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