General Motors (GM), which has committed to making half its cars ethanol-compatible by 2012, accelerated its alternative fuel interests on Thursday by investing in its second biofuel program since the beginning of the year.
GM said it was putting an unspecified amount of money into a New Hampshire-based company, Mascoma, which is working on turning papermill waste, corn stalks, wood chips and switchgrass into fuel.
In January, the world’s largest automotive maker unveiled plans to buy a stake in biofuel company Coskata Inc, a pioneer in efforts to convert waste into cheap ethanol.
Neither company uses grains such as corn to produce ethanol.
The US government has backed a huge increase in the production of corn and other grains for ethanol, a move that has been blamed for contributing to soaring food prices.
Mascoma says it is developing a “new generation of microbes” or bacteria which can break down the cellulose fibers that have been the major hurdle in using wood, straw, paper pulp and other agricultural waste products such as cornstalks for fuel.
It has also patented a process that uses heat and mechanical action to treat the cellulose in an economical manner.
“Processing ethanol from cellulosic biomass minimizes the environmental impact of fuel ethanol production,” Mascoma said on its Web site.
Other bacteria that it has developed convert sugars to ethanol.
In a statement from the two companies, GM president Fritz Henderson said the technologies of Mascoma and Coskata “represent what we see as the best in the cellulosic ethanol future and cover the spectrum in science and commercialization.”
“Demonstrating the viability of sustainable non-grain based ethanol is critical to developing the infrastructure to support the flex-fuel vehicle market,” he said.
GM head Rick Wagoner in January unveiled plans to bring 16 new hybrid models on the market within four years.
In the hybrid battle, GM has focused on developing technology for cars with batteries that can be recharged from regular electric sockets.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS