GM Announces Cellulosic Ethanol Production Breakthrough by New Partner, Coskata Inc.
Corn can be converted into ethanol, but yields only about a 30% increase in energy over what is put in and of course requires food crop to make it. Being able to use other sources of carbon such as biomass or switchgrass is important if ethanol use in the U.S. is to become widespread.
Making cellulosic ethanol from renewable sources other than corn and sugarcane has been difficult, expensive, and inefficient however, until now that is.
GM’s CEO Rick Wagoner has just moments ago announced a partnership with a company that has been in “stealth mode” since 2006. The company, called Coskata, is based in Illinois and has venture capital funding from among other sources Vinod Khosla.
Today they have broken their silence with an announcement of an ethanol from renewable sources production breakthrough.
The company uses a gasification process to convert organic matter (including garbage, and old tires) into CO2 and hydrogen gas. Using proprietary microorgansisms, the gases are converted in a highly efficient manner into ethanol reaching 97% purity.
Now if that isn’t enough, their process is also inexpensive - it costs under a dollar to make a gallon of ethanol. Whatsmore the energy conversion process is remarkably efficient, for every one unit of energy put in (the gasification process requires heat), up to 7.7 units of energy is returned.
Furthermore, the technique results in an overall 84% reduction in CO2 emissions versus gasoline.
The company has plans to scale up massively. Their first commercial demonstration facility will go online this year, and a plant capable of producing 100 million gallons of ethanol per year will go online in 2011.
Read the full press release below.
General Motors, Coskata Partner in Breakthrough Ethanol Technology
Process Makes Ethanol from Renewables Including Trash and Old Tires
DETROIT – General Motors announced a partnership Sunday with Coskata Inc. to use the company’s breakthrough technology that affordably and efficiently makes ethanol from practically any renewable source, including garbage, old tires and plant waste.
Coskata, which was formally introduced at GM’s opening press conference at the North American International Auto Show, uses a proprietary process that leverages patented microorganisms and bioreactor designs to produce ethanol for less than $1 a gallon (USD), 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.
Coskata’s process addresses the issues most often raised about grain-based ethanol production.
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.
Coskata’s process uses less than a gallon of water to make a gallon of ethanol compared to three gallons or more for other processes.
Coskata, based in Warrenville, Ill., can use its technology practically anywhere in the world where a carbon-based feedstock is available.
For GM, this could lead to joint efforts in markets such as China, where growing energy demand and a new energy research center could jumpstart a significant effort into ethanol made from biomass, Wagoner said.
More immediately, 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 Ground.
GM is the auto industry leader in offering consumers a choice of flex-fuel cars and trucks that run on E85 – any blend of ethanol and gasoline up to 85 percent ethanol – or gasoline only. GM produces more than 1 million flex-fuel vehicles a year and has 3.5 million on the road globally.
In the U.S., GM has more than 2.5 million flex-fuel vehicles on the road and is committed to making half its production flex-fuel capable by 2012. GM sells 11 E85-capable models this year and will increase that to more than 15 models for the 2009 model year.
GM has worked in partnerships with businesses, university and non-governmental organizations during the past two years to grow the U.S. infrastructure for E85, helping to open 300 fueling stations in 15 states. Helping make the fuel more readily available was the next logical step.
The timing of the GM-Coskata partnership coincides with President Bush’s signing last month of the Energy Independence and Security Act, which calls for a dramatic increase in biofuels – from 7.5 billion gallons in 2012 to 36 billion gallons in 2022. Corn-based and other grain-based ethanol is expected to account for up to 15 billion gallons of that new standard, with 21 billion gallons coming from cellulosic and biomass sources.
One of the criticisms of cellulosic ethanol is that its development is several years away. Coskata CEO and President Bill Roe said next-generation ethanol is here today.
“We will have our first commercial-scale plant making 50 to 100 million gallons of ethanol running in 2011, and that includes the two years it will take to build the plant,” Roe said. “Success in delivering on our business plan means that we could account for a significant portion of the biomass ethanol mandated in the new Renewable Fuels Standard within 10 years.”
The partnership includes an undisclosed equity stake for GM, joint research and development into emissions technology and investigation into making ethanol from GM facilities’ waste and non-recyclable vehicle parts.
The Coskata partnership builds on a quarter-century of GM research into biofuels and is part of GM’s five-fold approach to providing energy alternatives for automobiles. These include continued efforts in making fuel-efficient engines; E85 ethanol; hybrids; electrically driven vehicles and hydrogen fuel cells.
“There is no question in my mind that making ethanol more widely available is absolutely the most effective and environmentally sound solution,” Wagoner said. “And it’s one that can be acted on immediately.”
About GM
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 76 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 274,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2006, nearly 9.1 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.
About Coskata
Coskata is a biology-based renewable energy company for economies dependent on oil. Using proprietary microorganisms and transformative bioreactor designs, the company will produce ethanol for under $1 per gallon (USD) almost anywhere in the world, from a wide variety of input material. Founded in 2006 by leading renewable energy investors and entrepreneurs, including Khosla Ventures, GreatPoint Ventures and Advanced Technology Ventures, Coskata has compiled a strong IP portfolio of patents, trade secrets and know-how and assembled a first-class team for the development and commercialization of its compelling syngas-to-ethanol process technology. For more information, please visit www.coskata.com.
# # #
Popularity: 13%
(15 votes, average: 4.93 out of 5) 
Loading ...
22 Responses to “GM Announces Cellulosic Ethanol Production Breakthrough by New Partner, Coskata Inc.”
Leave a Reply
Recent Posts
- Chevy Cruze Pictures Surface on the Internet
- McCain: Eyes of the World are on the Volt
- GM Showing McCain Production Version of Chevy Volt
- Mass Fuel Cell Adoption Would Cost $200 Billion and Al Gore Challenges US to Go 100% Fossil Fuel Free in 10 Years
- JD Power Survey Says: Yes to Hybrids, No to E85, Maybe to EVs
- John McCain to Visit Chevy Volt on Friday
- The Trials and Tribulations of Tesla
- Bob Lutz: No Chevy Beat But Maybe 500,000 Chevy Volts
- GM Makes Cuts to Raise Liquidity by $15 Billion: No Impact on Volt
- GM’s E-Flex Plans for Europe
that’s fantastic
also check out:
http://discovermagazine.com/2006/apr/anything-oil/
and
http://www.changingworldtech.com/
Hopefully this is the real deal. The combination of a range extended vehicle, a transition to cleaner sources of electricity and ethanol could make North America energy independent. I say North America because the US’ friendly northern neighbour, Canada, has vast oil sands, uranium deposits and arable land to grow ethanol crops.
I should say energy independent and environmentally friendly. The USA could be a world leader in the transition to environmentally friendly technologies, thanks largely to GM.
“Recent study shows that switchgrass may be a more viable source of biofuel than previously thought”
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/01/10/recent-study-shows-that-switchgrass-may-be-a-more-viable-plant-s/
The report states that “…newer breeds (of switchgrass) produce 540 percent more energy than the energy consumed in its production…”
Switchgrass is native to the North American Prairie
The U.S. uses about 300 billion gallons of fuel each year. So even if the full 36 billion gallons of ethanol mandated were to be produced, it is just over 10% of the total fuel usage. When are we going to get serious about replacing ALL of our petroleum with renewable energy??
The move by GM is great news, but by 2022?? We’ll be paying at least $10/gallon for petro gas by then, if anyone is even still using it. With that kind of price incentive, ethanol plants should have already sprouted up on practically every piece of vacant land, and not just because the government says so.
The great news is that it uses gassification. There are already exist power plants that use this method for handling garbage (also in Europe). These can be modified to produce ethanol. The power-plant itself needs to be replaced by solar. I somewhere read, that with garbage alone you can run about 15% of the cars.
Lucas
Outstanding article. I’ve been following biotechnology that has the potentail to produce methane efficiently, on the order of $1-$2 per million BTU. I’d heard rumors that biotechnology to produce alcohol effieciently was being pursued, but I haven’t seen anything concrete until this article. Very, very interesting — thanks.
We are just being to tap the potential of biotechnology to transform how energy is produced and stored.
This is good news. I believe GM makes more E85 flex-fuel cars than anyone, so it makes sense for them to invest in something like this. If the Volt is also flex-fuel, you would then have three options for your fuel: gasoline, ethanol (E85), or power grid.
As far I know, the Volt IS flex-fuel. Furthermore, the Volt is with turbo. Which is very good in combination with ethanol, that is what I read.
This is great news, if everything pans out as planned. I guess we will know in 2011 when they start producing Ethanol. One concern I have is the power-per-gallon of this ethanol. Corn-based ethanol is cheaper than gasoline, but it also is not as powerful.
Battery technology, on the other hand, is here today and ready for use. I hope this development does not distract GM from creating E-REVs.
Ultimately, I want to be able to be more self-sufficient and charge my Volt, and future E-REVs, with a solar array in my back yard.
Please keep your focus on the battery-based E-REVs GM.
I’ll believe it when I see it. These celluulostic startups make announcements like this every few weeks…although backing from GM is interesting. Assuming people “plug-in” their Volt, 100 million gallons isn’t something to sneeze at.
The energydensity of ethanol is about 25% less of gasoline.
However, in a turbo you get something back, because of more efficient burning.
Lyle? Something for you to investigate?
Lucas
[quote comment="26800"]The U.S. uses about 300 billion gallons of fuel each year. So even if the full 36 billion gallons of ethanol mandated were to be produced, it is just over 10% of the total fuel usage. When are we going to get serious about replacing ALL of our petroleum with renewable energy??[/quote]
Maybe you’re missing the whole idea of the Volt. If everyone drove an E-REV with 40 mile all electric range like the Volt, this would convert around 80% of our gasoline usage to electricity, hopefully from renewable sources.
That leaves only 20% our gasoline usage for some other solution.
Since the Volt is E85 capable, ethanol seems like a perfect solution for the other 20%.
If cellulosic ethanol can’t scale all the way to 20%, then maybe some new battery technology will increase the all electric range of E-REVs to cover say 85 or 90%. The point is that between E-REV and ethanol, we have the potential to practically eliminate our need for oil.
That would be great, and it’s exactly what I would like to see happen. But there are quite a few people driving around who don’t seem to feel adequate unless they are conspicuously wasteful (driving 90mph in a 3/4 ton work-truck, Hummer H2, or Escalade–you know who you are), their engine is ear-splittingly loud, and they leave behind a swirling exhaust trail.
It’s this whole psychology that has to go away, along with petro-gasoline.
[quote comment="26877"]But there are quite a few people driving around who don’t seem to feel adequate unless they are conspicuously wasteful (driving 90mph in a 3/4 ton work-truck, Hummer H2, or Escalade–you know who you are), their engine is ear-splittingly loud, and they leave behind a swirling exhaust trail.
It’s this whole psychology that has to go away, along with petro-gasoline.[/quote]
Fashons change, and this one will too. It’s already changing.
There’s a new green kind of status emerging. In fact, I predict that within 5-8 years, high priced E-REVs and EVs will be the new rage. When this happens, big SUVs will suddenly look ugly, and people will stop buying them.
But here’s the rub: You can’t replace the current status symbol until the next one comes along. So until someone makes a really sexy green luxury car, big SUVs will continue to reign.
Here’s an example of what I just was talking about:
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9803688-7.html
Fisker’s is calling it “Eco-chic.”
Green status is already trending…
I’ve read that butanol can be produced from sunlight, air, and water using algae. Butanol is the most gasoline-like of the alcohols, with a higher energy density and lower octane rating than ethanol. It can be used in unmodified gasoline engines.
I’m not exactly sure how this process works, or if it’s commercially viable. But an efficient method of converting solar energy to alcohol would be a huge breakthrough. I can imagine vast shallow man-made lakes covered with fuel-producing algae.
[quote comment="26969"]I’m not exactly sure how this process works, or if it’s commercially viable. But an efficient method of converting solar energy to alcohol would be a huge breakthrough. I can imagine vast shallow man-made lakes covered with fuel-producing algae.[/quote]
Check out this forum thread:
http://www.gm-volt.com/volt-discussion?forum=1&topic=245&page=1
Click on the links to the videos. You’ll want to see this.
I noticed in the article that C02 and Hydrogen gas…. why not stop and just use the hydrogen…compress it for the fuel cell and bypass the rest…. GM and the other manufacturers are already testing hydrogen power. This could be the utltimate sourse..
[quote comment="26789"]GM’s CEO Rick Wagoner has just moments ago announced a partnership with a company that has been in “stealth mode” since 2006.[/quote]
Its a good thing they were in ’stealth mode’, makes it that much easier to capture their technology. If I were you Rick, I’d sell this technology to Exxon-Mobil or Chevron-Texaco as soon as I could.
[...] of “ineffecient” corn-based ethanol. There are already companies like Coskata who are revolutionizing biofuel with forms of cellulosic ethanol that are 6-7 times as effecient as corn-based ethanol, and all we [...]
[...] GM admits to planning for 50% of its cars to be flex-fuel capable by 2012, but also has partnered with waste-ethanol producer Coskata. [...]