Center for Advanced BioEnergy Research, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Monday, June 13, 2011

E15 ethanol: bridge to tomorrow, or bridge to nowhere?

Biofuels Digest
Jim Lane June 8, 2011

The offices of Eric McAfee, the charismatic Silicon Valley entrepreneur and CEO of AE Biofuels, are just a block or two from the offices of Apple and Steve Jobs, and thoughts of Jobs’ famed “reality distortion field” come easily to mind while threading through the Apple-swamped car traffic en route to a meeting at AE Biofuels headquarters.

Among the subjects, E15 ethanol. Turns out that McAfee doesn’t need a “reality distortion field,” to sell the cellulosic ethanol industry’s vision of expanding market access through E15. A giant Scottish clan sword, right out of the pages of Rob Roy and weighing perhaps 30 pounds, adorns the wall of his office, magnetically attached to the wall and suitably available for extra persuasion, should discussions on E10, vs E15, or higher blend volumes, go badly.

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