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General Motors has entered into a partnership with Coskata in a bid to promote a unique process for turning biomass into ethanol.

 

The Coskata partnership also builds on GM’s longstanding leadership in automotive fuels development and testing that included research and development of unleaded fuels in conjunction with the development of the catalytic converter, and early formulations of ethanol.

 

According to Beth Lowery, GM vice president, Environment, Energy and Safety Policy, “We believe ethanol used as a fuel, not just as a gasoline additive, is the best near-term alternative to the surging global demand for oil because ethanol is renewable and it significantly reduces CO2 emissions compared to gasoline.”

 

GM has already enabled its U.S. fleet to operate on E10, a blend of 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent ethanol.

 

According to General Motors, the company has about 3.5 million flex-fuel vehicles on the road in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Brazil. About 2.5 million are capable of operating on any percentage of gasoline and ethanol, up to 85 percent ethanol (E85). Another 1 million are in Brazil, where more than 90 percent of the vehicles GM sells run on 100-percent ethanol, known as E100.

 

Coskata is a renewable energy company promoting technology that uses proprietary microorganisms and transformative bioreactor designs, with the goal of producing ethanol for under $1 per gallon (USD) almost anywhere in the world, from a wide variety of input materials.

 

According to a company news release, Coskata uses patented microorganisms and transformative bioreactor designs, and a unique three-step conversion process to produce ethanol. The solution turns virtually any carbon-based feedstock, including biomass, municipal solid waste, bagasse and other agricultural waste into ethanol, making production a possibility in almost any geography.

 

In a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show, General Motors chief executive Rick Wagoner promised that by 2012 half the car maker's U.S. production line will be devoted to vehicles powered by "Flexfuel," an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional petroleum-based gasoline.

 

Wagoner put the emphasis on his presentation by unveiling a prototype Cadillac Provoq sedan.

 

“The Cadillac Provoq is the latest example of GM’s E-Flex propulsion system combining our new fifth-generation fuel cell with a lithium-ion battery to produce an electrically driven vehicle that uses no petroleum, and has no emission other than water,” he told the CES audience.

 

Wagner described some of the Provoq’s other intriguing features:

According to Wagoner, “the Cadillac Provoq represents another important step in GM’s commitment to energy-wise, environmentally conscious, electrically driven vehicles and the promise of truly sustainable transportation.”

If you ever wondered how IP communications and green technology are similar, take a look at this blog post explaining how it all works. We hope to see you at Green Technology World conference very soon. The show kicks off in a few hors and we can’t wait to host you.

 

Thanks to all the readers of TMC’s green blog for supporting the Green Technology World conference taking place next week in Los Angeles, CA. Our attendance numbers are far ahead of where we thought they would be based on the limited time we had to market this event. We now expect up to 2,000 people to register for the show when all is said and done. In addition there may be some of you who don’t want to use a computer to register just so you can lower your carbon footprint. We completely understand and that is perfectly OK.

 

For this particular show we will be using electricity in our registration system. We are thinking however that at the next event we may get a bank of Inveneo bicycle-powered PCs to handle this task. We are of course evaluating the carbon output of a human breathing hard versus just getting the juice from a wall socket. More to come later.

 

Oh and by the way, I forgot to mention some of the attendees at the show. We have representation at a high level from Boeing, AMD, Alcatel-Lucent, Qwest, Toyota, British Telecom, Ericsson, Lockheed Martin, Texas Instruments, Cisco, Intel and The United Nations, among others.

 

Here are the sessions we will be focusing on next week in LA:

 

 

 

 

Here is more from the press release.

I have a confession to make. I like sports cars. Does that make me a terrible person? Well the answer from an environmental perspective was a resounding yes – until now that is. While every auto maker is going green, I recently came across an extreme green racing machine. The Eco One is touted as the world’s greenest race car and is made from potatoes, cashew nut shells, hemp and rapeseed oil among other plants. (Boy is writing this article making me hungry )

Now that I’ve snacked, I am not afraid to share the car has other food and plant derived components. The tires are made from potato starch for improved fuel economy. The brake pads are made from ground cashew shells and the brake oil is derived from plants.

What’s more, the body is created from hemp and rapeseed oil. And it runs on fuel derived from fermented sugar beet.

If I had heard about this car sooner I would have purchased one. It happens to be the perfect vehicle to get me to TMC’s Green Technology World conference which is just over a week away in Los Angeles, CA.

 

Assuming I got one tomorrow, I could log about 400 miles per day for a week on this little baby and be there before I know it. Actually, Google Maps tells me the 2,837 mile ride can be performed in one day and 18 hours of continuous driving. But then again, I am sure I can do it faster. Remember, the cofounders of Google each drive a Toyota Prius which the last time I looked is no Eco One.

Does Will Ferrell have a place in a green blog? Of course he does as BMW has seen it fit to give him the keys to the first BMW Hydrogen 7 for everyday use. This is all part of the Hydrogen 7 Pioneer Program which basically means giving Hydrogen cars to high profile people.

 

Some interesting facts… The car emits nothing but water vapor and is not for sale. Some argue that using hydrogen as a fuel is silly because it actually consumes more energy than it produces but the opposite argument is that over time this should change.

 

Certainly cars become much cleaner vehicles when using hydrogen for propulsion.

 

For more information on celebrities such as Angelina Jolie who have driven this car be sure to check out autoblogGreen for more.

Please accept my invitation to be part of TMC’s newest event. Here is a recent invitation we sent out. In case you missed it, here it is. Hope to see you at this show. Our attendance is already ahead of projections and our free passes will likely be sold out soon.

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If you are concerned about how your company is impacting the environment, or perhaps looking for ways to increase efficiency and reduce your energy consumption while minimizing waste, then you need to join us at the Los Angeles Convention Center on September 11th and 12th for the Green Technology World Conference.

The Green Technology World Conference is the premier event focused on educating you about technologies, essential issues, and trends that enable businesses to operate more efficiently, thereby creating a positive impact on both your business and the environment. The conferences will feature presentations from executives from successful organizations that have implemented green policies and seen tremendous results.

You can attend the Green Technology World Conference for FREE if you register in advance. The conference will feature educational sessions, panel discussions, keynote presentations, networking events, and an exhibit hall featuring leading companies showcasing their green technologies. And it’s all FREE when you register in advance.

Don’t miss this groundbreaking event. We have put a great deal of effort into making Green Technology World Conference a totally unique event that will provide the best information for you, creating an unsurpassed educational opportunity for all. There is no cost to attend, but the benefits can save your company thousands and help save the environment for everyone.

We look forward to seeing you in Los Angeles.

Regards,

The Green Technology World Conference Team

Although air quality problems plague the world’s fastest-growing economy, China is doing what it can to have a true green Olympics. The city of Beijing plans 80 percent of buses and 70 percent of taxis will be fueled via clean energy by 2008.

 

As part of the efforts, 14 electric buses have been running on one bus route for two years in Beijing as a pilot project while 1,300 buses fueled by compressed gas have been put into operation.

 

Of the two million square meters of buildings used for the Olympics, 26.9 percent will be powered by clean energy like solar, wind and geothermal power, the ministry said.

 

The seven main stadiums in Beijing will be equipped with solar generators with a total capacity of 480 KW while 90 percent of the lighting outside the stadiums and hot water supply in the Olympics Village will be powered by solar energy.

 

Beijing will have its first wind power plant by the end of this year with a capacity of 50,000 KW, which will supply main stadiums.

 

While it will take a while to clean the air in China, the Olympics seem like a great catalyst to get the country moving in the green direction.