South Dakota Farmers Union (SDFU) President Doug Sombke was one of two panelists serving on a biofuels panel during the 2022 National Farmers Union Convention in Denver. The other panelist was Dan Bowerson, Senior Director, Energy and Environment at the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.
The panel focused on the role of ethanol today and where the liquid fuel fits in as automakers get serious about releasing electric vehicles.
Just a few months into 2022, electric vehicle (EV) sales increased by 425 percent. But Bowerson said there’s still room for ethanol in today’s market. Bowerson’s group works with automakers, which produce nearly 99 percent of all new cars and light trucks sold in the United States, as well as original equipment manufacturers, technology and other auto companies, and trade associations.
“The auto industry is fully behind the government’s target of 40 percent electric vehicles. With the right policies, we can do this. We can make vehicles, but we can’t get people to buy them,” Bowerson said. “We really need a holistic approach, and high-octane, low-carbon fuels may have a role to play in the future. They should be promoted because of their market advantages.”
Panel moderator Anne Steckel, Senior Adviser to the National Farmers Union, agreed. “We have the solution for today and now.”
Sombke’s discussion focused on higher ethanol blends like E30 and their ability to create a fuel that is safe for families and the environment. He added that recent events underscore the benefits of E30’s indigenous nature as a fuel source. “When this invasion of Ukraine happened and there was talk of $5 gas, the first thing I thought was, ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every gas pump in the US pumped E30?'”
In addition to the benefits of US-based manufacturing, Sombke shared the benefits of E30 as a high-octane, low-carbon fuel, as well as research on its overall health benefits. “When the ethanol industry started, we as farmers saw two things as advantages: good prices and being able to make a living on the farm without harming the environment,” Sombke said. “Today we know that E30 also removes CO2 from the air and carcinogens from fuel.”
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