The U.S. government has kicked off a technological horse race to see which among six companies can produce a transportation fuel that is an alternative to corn- based ethanol, in commercial quantities, at a cost of around 1 dollar a gallon, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Companies successful in producing low-cost ethanol could have first crack at a new fuel market that offers a domestic alternative to gasoline, said the report.

The Department of Energy (DOE) will pony up as much as 385 million dollars to help the competitors, but how much each company gets will be negotiated later, based on their progress, according to the report.

DOE scientists and officials will determine who gets what portion of the funding. One competitor is the agency's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. It is teamed up with Broin Cos., of Sioux Falls, S.D., which plans to use enzymes to make ethanol out of corncobs and corn stalks at a plant near Emmetsburg, Iowa.

"This effort is a big deal," said Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, who estimated that the companies will commit a total of at least 1.2 billion dollars to their ventures.

Currently the United States produces about 6 billion gallons of ethanol. Bodman estimated that corn-based production could increase to 12 to 15 billion gallons, but farm experts worry that soaring demand for corn by ethanol refineries will push food and meat prices up to politically unacceptable levels, said the report.

Source: Xinhua