General Motors CEO: oil has peaked

Energy Bulletin

THE world's biggest car maker, General Motors, believes the global oil supply has peaked and a switch to electric cars is inevitable.

In a stunning announcement at the opening of the Detroit Motor Show yesterday, GM's chairman and chief executive officer, Rick Wagoner, said ethanol was an important interim solution to the demand for oil, until battery technology gave electric cars the range of petrol-powered cars.

GM is working on an electric car, the Volt — due in showrooms in 2010 — but delays in battery technology have slowed its development.

Mr Wagoner cited US Department of Energy figures that showed the world was using about 1000 barrels of oil every second and demand was likely to increase by 70% in the next 20 years.

"There is no doubt demand for oil is outpacing supply at a rapid pace, and has been for some time now," Mr Wagoner said. "As a business necessity and an obligation to society we need to develop alternate sources of propulsion.

"So, are electrically driven vehicles the answer for the mid- and long-term? Yes, for sure. But we need something else to significantly reduce our reliance on petroleum in the interim."

GM has signed an agreement with a supplier who claims to have come up with a way of producing ethanol more cheaply and efficiently than refining oil. It has formed a partnership with a company that claims it can produce ethanol from materials such as agriculture and municipal waste, discarded plastics and old tyres......