Bioelectricity may help plant-powered transportation boost its efficiency.
Biofuels have gone from transportation panacea to pariah in the space of a few years, but plant-derived motive power may be poised for a comeback. New life cycle assessments confirm the inefficiencies of using liquid biofuels for our cars and trucks, but so-called “bioelectricity”—electric power generated from biomass—seems to be a more efficient and climate friendly solution, according to new research published in Science. Battery electric vehicles that recharge using bioelectricity would travel an average of 80% farther per acre of cropland than traditional or hybrid biofuel cars and trucks.
Biofuel vehicles require few modifications to existing internal combustion systems, changes that cost manufacturers only a few hundred dollars at most. The liquid fuels also easily flow through the existing gasoline distribution infrastructure, so most oil companies’ decided to throw their weight behind them. Yet despite these advantages, biofuels production could expand cropland by millions of acres while providing dubious climate benefits. Turning those same crops into power for battery electric vehicles, the studies’ authors say, would help address both of those issues. Biofuels—regardless of source—lose out in part due to the inefficiencies of the internal combustion engine. While electric motors convert electricity to motive force with around 90 percent efficiency, internal combustion engines convert under 40 percent of the liquid fuel’s power to motion.
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