A Catalyst for Emerging Transportation by Raymond A. Lewis, President, American Methanol Institute Methanol is a widely available alternative fuel that has been used on a large scale for a long time. Many associate methanol with the Indianapolis 500, since it has been the fuel of choice for professional auto racers for the last 30 years because of its safety and performance advantages. FFVs are cars that can operate on either M-85 or gasoline, or any combination of the two. Still another highly promising avenue for methanol use is in powering heavy-duty vehicles such as buses and trucks.
Methanol is a clear, liquid fuel made primarily from domestically produced natural gas.
In the national effort to improve air quality in the smoggiest cities by reducing toxic emissions, analysts have found methanol to be a leading clean-burning alternative to the more common fuels. And methanol has distinct environmental and practical benefits. Because of these advantages, methanol use in government and commercial fleets is increasing. As a result, a growing number of communities are operating methanol-fueled transit school buses and other fleets to meet clean air requirements. Another edge that methanol has over other fuels is that, as a liquid fuel, its infrastructure requirements are similar to those of gasoline and can be installed more cheaply than those of other options.