Will ethanol fuel a low-carbon future?

Cellulosic ethanol has been 5 years away for decades. It’s a trope, but it’s been true as plant after plant trying to make ethanol from corn stover and other agricultural waste has opened to great fanfare and then closed in ignominy. But this time may be different. The biobased business community seems confident that a round of companies starting up plants has cracked the feedstock problems that stymied earlier attempts and has improved cellulose depolymerization. If the technology works, a host of customers in the chemical and fuel industries is eager for ethanol as a low-carbon feedstock.