Will Biofuel Make It?

Filed in archive Biofuel on April 23, 2009

BusinessWeek had a long but informative perspective piece on the future of biofuel earlier this month. Simply put, the outlook is bleak...

Yet behind the very real innovations and investments, the brash claims and the breathless headlines, lies an inconvenient truth. Replacing petroleum with biofuels is a tough business. Even as the industry develops, many of the companies-probably most-will not survive.

It looks like the biofeul industry will be a graveyard for start-ups whose pockets are too shallow to withstand price flucuations caused by their own success. Major energy corporations like BP and Exxon will hang around to buy up technologies and innovations at the resulting fire sales.

At the end of the day, the capacity to produce cellulosic ethanol from non-food biomass still won't meet targets or demand.

I know the cars on the road now will have to burn something for a while yet. But I suppose my question remains... Why are we planning on new cars burning anything? Why isn't the electric car the car of the future? Time will tell...


Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 4060792