TMCnet News
GM invests in another ethanol startup(St. Louis Post-Dispatch (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) May 2--WASHINGTON -- General Motors Corp. has taken an ownership stake in a renewable energy company that is working to develop ethanol from wood chips, waste paper sludge and switch grass. Mascoma Corp., based in Boston, is developing a single-step method of breaking down plant matter for fuel, hoping to reduce the cost. It is the automaker's second partnership with an startup this year that is attempting to create an alternative fuel from something other than corn. In January, GM announced a partnership with Warrenville, Ill.-based Coskata Inc. at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, a renewable energy company that plans to produce ethanol from agricultural leftovers and municipal and industrial waste. The extent of GM's investment and ownership stake in the companies wasn't disclosed. GM and other automakers such as Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC have pushed flexible-fuel vehicles as an alternative in the face of rising gasoline prices and tougher fuel efficiency standards. GM President and Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson said the investments underscored the company's belief that "ethanol has the greatest near-term potential as a clean-burning, renewable fuel that can help reduce oil dependence." Mascoma executives said they hope to mass-produce ethanol for about $1 to $1.50 a gallon and begin producing millions of gallons of the fuel around 2010. But Bruce Jamerson, Mascoma's chairman and chief executive, said the company's approach "can be economic at relatively small volumes." To see more of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.stltoday.com. Copyright (c) 2008, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |