“In places like Minnesota, they’re worried about drawing down aquifers because of all of the corn ethanol that’s being produced,” he says. “The Coskata process uses a half to a third as much water as the corn process does, and that’s before you account for the water that you need to grow the corn.”
The increased consumption of feed stocks like corn also drive up the price of meats and milk, thus replacing the high cost of one necessity with another. But the main challenge for Coskata and other ethanol producers has been getting the pumps and ethanol-capable vehicles to consumers, and they’re not facing this challenge alone.
FlexFuel cars
In January 2008 Coskata and General Motors announced a partnership in which the two companies would work to create the next generation of automotive fuel sources. In fact, GM already makes FlexFuel cars and trucks that can run on both ethanol and gasoline, with more than 2.5 million on the road in the U.S. alone.
“We’ve actually been working on biofuels research and development for 25 years,” says Mary Beth Stanek, director of environment and energy policy and commercialization for GM. “We started in the business of FlexFuel in 1990.”
And this business involves not only redesigning and recalibrating engines, but also getting pumps to consumers. “One of my jobs at GM is to ensure that the infrastructure is growing,” she explains. “I’ve been able to get 300 E85 pumps in 15 states.”
Currently there are about 1,400 ethanol pumps nationwide, but this number will likely grow as word of this new source spreads over the next several years. For instance, GM recently assisted in the placement of an ethanol pump in Miami, Fla., where there are about 5,000 FlexFuel owners.
According to Stanek, that particular station now sells 1,000 gallons of E85 per day. It also led to the development of 25 new stations in the greater Miami area.
Energy Independence and Security Act
The federal government has even stepped in to help spur this growth with the recent passage of the Energy Independence and Security Act, calling for an increase in biofuels from 7.5 billion gallons in 2012 to 36 billion gallons in 2022.
In Roe’s estimation this could very well become a mainstream fuel source. “The projections that I’ve seen say that if we hurry on putting out alternative fuels like ethanol that are less expensive and more plentiful, we could replace up to 35% of the gasoline that is consumed in this country by 2030.”