Ethanol plays an important role in the American mindset about fuels of the future. And while President Bush supports Ethanol in his radio speeches and in his national agenda for energy safety and future fuels for the country, a new start-up in California is already thinking a few steps further.LS9 in California are researching bacterium mixed with the genes of other bacteria, animals and plants. The aim of the research is to create a new kind of bacterium that fulfills the chemical criteria which gas, kerosene and diesel have in common. LS9 believe that by working in this way with hydrocarbon a new sustainable and emission free gas will be created.
The LS9 founders, George Church, a Professor in genetics at Harvard University, and Chris Somerville, Professor in plant biology at Stanford University, agree that it will be successful. They have reported on their first real results, but there is no large scale conclusion yet. Other companies like Amyris also believe in an upcoming alternative fuel market and are competing with LS9, which the investors in LS9 find interesting.

Competition creates markets and even if LS9 hydrocarbon bacterium gas will share the market with other providers of alternative fuels in the future, the investors believe they can make enough profit. The LS9 founders emphasize that the new bacterium gas will need 65% less energy than ethanol.
So it would use less energy when produced AND keep the American gas industry independent of foreign energy sources.
Fotos: LS9 website