beyondbrics

Could China, the world’s biggest energy consumer, one day be fueling itself with leftover corn cobs?

Beijing’s energy planners think so. Although China may be better known for its push into renewable technologies like wind and solar, the country is also promoting new biofuel technologies that would make ethanol from agricultural residue, like straw or wheat stalks.

Usually biofuels, the most common of which is ethanol, are produced from crops like corn and sugar. But since China doesn’t have much corn or sugar, the government has instead started encouraging technologies that would use plant refuse to produce a fuel known as “cellulosic ethanol”. In the current five-year plan (2011-2015), fuels from biomass are named as a key energy focus, alongside wind, solar and hydropower.

The process of producing “cellulosic ethanol” involves first fermenting the agricultural waste to produce sugars, then processing the sugars into ethanol or other chemical products. Although this type of biofuel has yet to be produced on a large, commercial scale, pilot plants that run this process are already operating in several countries including China, Italy and the US.

China’s interest in biofuels is also a key business opportunity for companies that work in the sector. “We calculate that China could replace 10 per cent of its imported oil with advance biofuels by 2020,” says Michael Christiansen, president of China for Novozymes, a Danish company that is the world’s biggest producer of industrial enzymes. Novozymes is working with Sinopec, China’s biggest refiner, and Cofco, a state-owned grain trader, on a demonstration biofuel project in the northern province of Heilongjiang.

Though the Heilongjiang plant won’t start commercial production for another two years, other biofuel and bioenergy plants are cropping up across the country. China’s oil majors, including CNPC, are increasingly interested in the sector. And the country’s latest bioenergy plant was inaugurated just last week—a facility that will use straw and corn stalks to generate electricity in Jilin province. Boeing, the US aviation company, is working in China to develop aviation biofuel, and recently did a test flight in Beijing for a 747 running on jatropha-blended fuel.

Cellulosic ethanol—the process that uses agricultural waste as a feedstock—has faced some setbacks, of course. Often it has disappointed its supporters because it has taken a long time to develop as a viable commercial technology. In the US for example, cellulosic ethanol has yet to be produced on a large commercial scale, despite tax credits that have been in place since 2007.

However if China makes good on its policies to promote biofuels like cellulosic ethanol, it could be a big boost to the sector globally. In recent years, China’s support for renewables like wind turbines and solar panels has reshaped those industries around the world. Now, China might be about to do the same thing for biofuels.

Related reading:
China’s rush into renewables: The way the world turns, FT
Boom times for US farming, FT
China to promote ethanol in attempt to cut pollution, FT