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by Stewart Truelsen, director of broadcast services, AFBF

For years America has been looking for an alternative to petroleum. There are those who hold out hope for a big breakthrough that would eliminate the internal-combustion engine. The automobile industry is interested in development of hydrogen fuel cells as a replacement, but a recent article in Barron's financial publication casts considerable doubt on this alternative.

Inventors have tinkered with fuel cell technology for more than 100 years. So far they have come up with a fuel cell engine that costs about $300,000 compared with $3,750 for an internal combustion engine. Cost is just one of the problems. Fuel cell vehicles are said to lack sufficient range and don't perform well in cold climates. In addition, there would have to be a whole new infrastructure built to supply and store the hydrogen.

Ballard Power Systems is a leader in fuel cell technology, but Barron's said, "After years of research, Ballard's power technology is burning up cash, not highways."

That's not the case with ethanol or biodiesel. The 10 percent ethanol blend is sold at thousands of gasoline stations, and there are nearly 120 stations that sell E85, an 85 percent blend that runs in cars already in production. Biodiesel is relatively new and is just starting to show up at the pump.

There are hybrid cars available now that run on gasoline and electricity. Ford will even introduce a gas-electric hybrid SUV in late 2003. Whether it's used in a hybrid car or a gas-guzzler, ethanol can play a much bigger role in the future. Farm-raised fuels have far more promise in meeting energy needs for transportation in the next 10 to 25 years than hydrogen fuel cells, bubble fusion, solar power or any of the alternatives.

It's time we realize that farmers have been right about ethanol and now biodiesel.