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Ohio ethanol producers not concerned about EVs intruding on their industry
KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: June 27, 2024
Three years ago, President Joe Biden set a goal that half of all new cars and trucks sold in the United States in 2030 would be zero-emission, thus reducing the sales of gasoline-powered vehicles.
A new rule from the Environmental Protection Agency requires that about 56 percent of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2032, along with at least 13 percent plug-in hybrids or other partially electric cars.
All gasoline engine vehicles can operate on fuel that includes at least some corn-based ethanol, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Ethanol producers in Ohio say they’re not concerned that a switch to electric-powered vehicles will cut into their business, at least for a while.
“EVs are not taking away our business and, quite frankly, they’re not taking away business from gas producers,” said Brad Moffitt, ethanol specialist at Ohio Corn & Wheat. “Liquid fuels are not going to go away any time soon.”
So far, he seems correct. After an increase of sales last year, sales of electric vehicles are slowing. Sales grew 3.3 percent during the first quarter of the year, far below the 47 percent growth that fueled record sales last year, according to the Associated Press.
Last year, 92.8 percent of vehicles sold in the United States were gas-powered, according the AP.
“(EVs) are here, they’re coming, but it’s been a very slow process to get consumers to buy EVs,” said Moffitt.
He said ethanol-blended gasoline is “a great, clean, domestic fuel source.”
He said an ideal vehicle, fuel-wise, is a plug-in hybrid, which runs on electric power for a short distance, perhaps 40 miles, then switches to traditional gas power if the driver is going beyond that mileage.
“I’m very big on ethanol, but I’m also very big on an all-of-the-above approach,” Moffitt said.
He said all gasoline has at least 10 percent ethanol and some vehicles can operate on 15 percent ethanol, which is available in about 50 to 60 retail locations in Ohio.
Ohio has seven ethanol plants, three of which are operated by bioproduct company POET.
Ohio is the seventh-largest ethanol-producing state and the seven plants have a combined production capacity of about 757 million gallons annually, according to the Energy Information Administration.
“During COVID, they backed off production, but right now they’re producing at or near capacity,” said Moffitt.
There have been some reports that a new market for ethanol producers could be airplane fuel, but Moffitt said that’s not realistic now.
“The biggest buzz words are ‘sustainable aviation fuels,’ which are basically kerosene. But you can’t blend ethanol with aviation fuel. It has to be further refined and that’s not feasible. They’re testing it, but it’s a future possible source,” he said.
Moffitt instead said that what is more likely is a 98 percent ethanol fuel for diesel engines on heavy-duty trucks.
“That’s something that exists today. Aviation is the future,” he said.
Moffitt said the new technology for the trucks has to undergo a lot of testing and a long governmental approval process before it can become available.
“It’s in the testing stage and has a very strict approval process. Once approved, it could replace (traditional fuel),” he said.
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