According to the report, US $44 billion dollars have been spent by governments around the world to stimulate the development of alternative fuel vehicles. 

“The drive for e-mobility is on the rise and not only affects the automotive industry, but also other related industries such as energy & resources,” explains Martin Hoelz, Deloitte Germany partner and Global Automotive Affinity Group Leader for DTT Global Manufacturing Industry group. “Incentives and government support range from tax breaks, cash bonuses, and other sales incentives for consumers, to subsidies for research and development (R&D) projects. As a result, consumers who have been keen to adopt alternative technology vehicles will further benefit.”

According to the Deloitte analysis, over the last 18 months, programs in least 156 countries and regions encourage consumers to replace old vehicles with new ones with scrappage bonus or “cash-for-clunkers” type incentives. These include: Austria, Central and Eastern Europe, China, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States.”

Countries such as the United States, Australia, China, and France are channeling investments towards R&D efforts. The United States Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program totaling US$25 billion, for example, offers grants and loans to support the local development of advanced technology vehicles and associated components. Australia’s Green Car Plan will invest AUD$1.3 billion (US$1.2 billion) towards innovation and design of more environmentally-friendly vehicles.

“The future of e-mobility and the approach to technology advances in cars is expected to be divided on regional lines,” concludes Roehm. “Green alternatives, such as EVs will likely find more consumer interest in developed countries, while flex-fuels, such as ethanol and natural gas will find wider adoption in emerging markets where the local climate or resource base favors these fuels over petroleum. The outcome is likely to be a variety of powertrain technologies in the market by 2020.”

The analysis by the DTT Global Manufacturing Industry group shows that the global automotive industry is expected to benefit directly from an injection of around US$105 billion in economic stimulus funds, representing a small percentage of the estimated US$4.3 trillion in economic stimulus packages committed by various governments around the world.

For a copy of Driving e-mobility: Economic stimulus and other support spur development of alternative vehicles, please visit http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-Global/Local%20Assets/Documents/Manufacturing/Driving%20e-mobility%20-%20Press%20Release%20(secured).PDF.

By enabling the production of biofuels, food and feed from non-food crops, this revolutionary approach addresses common concerns about the redirection of food crops for the sole production of biofuels. With this new approach, food crops such as corn and wheat can all be utilized for food and feed while the cellulosic portions of the plants can be converted into fuel, food and feed.

“It’s a great fit,” says Ed Lehrburger, founder and President of PureVision Technology, Inc., a Colorado-based biorefining technology development company. “PureVision’s approach has always been to use non-food feedstocks, such as corn stover, bagasse, wood and non-food energy crops, such as switch grass, to produce more sustainable bio-based products. When Microbiogen contacted us to see if we had the capability to grow non-GM yeasts on our liquid fraction to make protein, we were intrigued about the possibilities.”

According to Geoff Bell, Chief Executive Officer of Microbiogen, its non-GM yeasts have performed well in the laboratory using sugars generated from PureVision’s liquid fraction and are now ready to be used in commercial environments. “For over eight years, our company has been developing natural yeast strains that can be used to produce both ethanol and high-quality protein, and we are now in the process of identifying and partnering with a number of companies with complementary technologies to enable us to demonstrate its potential on an industrial scale,” said Mr. Bell. “PureVision’s bio-refinery capability and focus on sustainable fuel production make this collaboration extremely promising. We look forward to working together to advance and perfect our technologies.”

One of the most exciting aspects of the Microbiogen technology is that, for the first time in the field of biofuels, the organism that ferments the sugars to ethanol also has the ability to clean the waste stream generated by the process and, once fermentation is complete, can then be sold as a valuable high protein food by-product. “Essentially, this means that ethanol producers will be able to have their cake and eat it too,” said Mr. Bell. “This is a ‘win win’ for everyone – production of cost-effective biofuels without the loss of food production.”

According to Mr. Lehrburger, preliminary economics look promising for making both biofuels and protein from non-food biomass in commercial biorefineries. “During the last year, our two companies have been intimately working together, and due to promising results, we have completed our collaboration agreement. In 2010, we plan to generate substantial data at the ½-ton/day scale that will give both companies the thrust to advance the combined technologies toward commercial scale,” he said.