NREL Proves Cellulosic Ethanol Can Be Cost Competitive (Fact Sheet)

Ethanol from non-food sources - known as 'cellulosic ethanol' - is a near-perfect transportation fuel: it is clean, domestic, abundant, and renewable, and it can potentially replace 30% of the petroleum consumed in the United States, but its relatively high cost has limited its market. That changed in 2012, when the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) demonstrated the technical advancesneeded to produce cellulosic ethanol at a minimum ethanol selling price of $2.15/gallon (in 2007 dollars). Through a multi-year research project involving private industry, NREL has proven that cellulosic ethanol can be cost competitive with other transportation fuels.