ETHANOL BUSINESS

Earth Talk

September 14th, 2007 | Author: Mr Ethanol

Richmond.com:
Environmental advocates would love to see carmakers mass-produce a biofuel-electric hybrid. From a technology standpoint, it’s a no-brainer: Major automakers already turn out vehicles that can run on E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol, derived from corn and other crops, and 15 percent standard gasoline. Ford’s light duty F-series pickups are examples of such “flex fuel” vehicles. And gasoline-electric hybrids, like Toyota’s Prius, are all the rage and beginning to be ubiquitous on the roads.

Cost, however, is an issue, says Jim Kliesch of the Web site greenercars.org. Traditional cars and trucks powered by diesel, biodiesel or ethanol cost more to manufacture than equivalent gasoline-power vehicles. And gas-electric hybrids also cost more than conventional cars, largely because their market share is still small and economies of scale have not yet kicked in. Thus combining two costly technologies in a biofuel-electric hybrid would constitute “a double-whammy,” says Kliesch, “limiting the vehicles to a very small slice of the market.”

Nonetheless, Ford last year unveiled a prototype of its popular Escape Hybrid SUV that runs on E85. Like the gas-electric hybrids now on the road, the E85-electric hybrid Escape maximizes fuel economy by alternating between its internal combustion and electric engines. And it never needs to be plugged in because its high-capacity batteries store electricity generated from braking and other processes in-car.

Ford estimates that if only 5 percent of U.S. vehicles were powered by ethanol-electric hybrids oil imports could be reduced by 140 million barrels a year. Such vehicles would also produce about 25 percent less carbon dioxide (CO2) — a chief contributor to global warming — than traditional cars and trucks. What’s holding up mass production, says Ford, is a lack of E85 fueling outlets — only 1,200 exist across the U.S.

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