Bush Touts Ethanol as a Fuel of the Future

Washington DC February 23, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that President Bush visited Novozymes in Franklinton, N.C. on Thursday to tout his "20 in 10" proposal to reduce gasoline usage by 20 percent over the next decade.

He toured labs, posed for pictures with workers, and led a panel discussion with scientists about new kinds of ethanol. For Bush, it was another step in his tour to promote the energy priorities he outlined in his State of the Union address in January.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Novozymes has become one of the leading suppliers of enzymes that help the U.S. create about 7 billion gallons a year of ethanol out of corn kernels.

But because ethanol is pushing up corn prices, and squeezing the profits of hog and cattle farmers, Novozymes has created an enzyme cocktail that should reduce the costs to mass produce "cellulosic ethanol," derived from tougher plant matters such as sawgrasses and wood chips.

The ethanol can be blended with gasoline to run vehicles.