GM looks at ethanol to ramp-down oil reliance
GM suggests 2030 as the date for substituting ethanol to cut US reliance on oil for transport by nearly one-thirdA study by General Motors and Sandia National Laboratories in the US has found that ethanol derived from plant and forestry waste as well as dedicated energy crops could account for a close-to one-third reduction of North America's dependence on oil for petrol-engined vehicles by 2030.
Operating under the title "90-Billion Gallon Biofuel Deployment Study", the combined research was conducted over a nine-month period to determine "how a large volume of cellulosic biofuel could be sustainably produced, assuming technical and scientific progress continues at expected rates."
A total of 90 billion gallons of ethanol exceeds the U.S. Department of Energy's goal for ethanol production, which calls for 36 billion gallons to be produced by 2022.
90 billion gallons of ethanol is estimated to be sufficient to replace more than 60 billion of the estimated 180 billion gallons expected to be used in the US by 2030.
The 2030 figure, according to the study, would be made up of 75 billion gallons from non-food cellulosic feedstocks such as agricultural and forest residue, dedicated crops including switchgrass, and short rotation woody crops including willow and poplar trees. A further 15 billion gallons would come from corn crops.
Importantly, the study claimed that the costs of producing ethanol from these sources would be virtually the same as that for long-term domestic petroleum production and would be competitive, as biofuel technologies matured, with oil priced at US$90 a barrel.
Further, the study says water consumption during the production of ethanol would be equivalent or better than that required for on shore production and refining of fossil fuels.
The study also included "land use, water availability, energy used to produce cellulosic biomass, transportation of feedstocks and other potential leverage points for the development and use of cellulosic biofuels."
GM Holden has kept an eye on the US study and is currently seeking partners for a similar study in Australia.
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