At TechFutures we’ve long been wary of those who tout corn-based ethanol as the fuel of the future; not only does it drive up the price of a foodstock (and will, as a result, drive up prices for beef, pork and chicken as well), is it far less efficient than gasoline and, because of its corrosive nature, requires completely different engines and delivery systems in order to be used in any significant quantity. Those familiar with the four dimensions of innovation will recognize that ethanol alone is about as likely a solution to our fuel problem as pure hydrogen. What is needed is something that causes consumers to have to jump through as few hoops as possible–i.e., something that will run in existing gasoline engines at near gasoline efficiency.

Enter butanol–biobutanol specifically–which BP is making a big bet on. From MIT’s Technology Review:

“Alternative fuels such as ethanol could help reduce carbon-dioxide emissions and decrease oil imports, but so far these biofuels only make up a small fraction of fuel use. One of the biggest challenges to ramping up ethanol use is distributing it. That’s because ethanol can’t be transported in the same pipelines used to distribute gasoline. What’s more, ethanol delivers far less energy than gasoline does on a gallon-for-gallon basis.

“Philip New, president of BP Biofuels, a recently created company within the giant British oil producer, thinks it has a solution: butanol. While butanol, like ethanol, can be made from corn starch or sugar beets, its properties are a lot more like gasoline than like ethanol. That means it can be shipped in existing gasoline pipelines. And it contains more energy than ethanol does, which will improve mileage per gallon.”

Click here for the complete interview with BP’s Philip New.