ALTERNATIVE FUEL MARKET

Today, the US imports more than half of the oil it consumes, and overall consumption continues to increase. American output of corn-based ethanol is rising by 30% a year. Brazil, long the world leader, is pushing ahead as fast as the sugar crop from which its ethanol is made will allow. China, though late to start, has already built the world's biggest ethanol plant, and plans another as big. Germany, the big producer of biodiesel, is raising output 40-50% a year. France aims to triple output of the two fuels together by 2007.

"Alternative fuels" are here and starting to change the energy markets… The oil companies' war with biofuels has already become a truce; now it may become an alliance." - The Economist, May 14th 2005.

Ethanol

Besides its superior performance characteristics, ethanol burns cleaner than gasoline. It is a completely alternative, domestic, environmentally friendly fuel that enhances any nation's economy and energy independence. Tests have proven that vehicles fueled with ethanol reduce harmful hydrocarbon and benzene emissions when compared to vehicles running on gasoline. Unlike fossil fuel combustion, which unlocks carbon that has been stored for millions of years, ethanol use results in low increases to the carbon cycle. Ethanol also degrades quickly in water and, therefore, poses much less risk to the environment than an oil or gasoline spill.

E10 is a blend of 10% Ethanol and 90% gasoline. E10 is commonly used throughout the US today and is warranted by OEM's for use in all gasoline vehicles.

E85 is a blend of 85% Ethanol and 15% gasoline. It is available at over 200 U.S. pump locations mainly concentrated in the upper Midwest. Approximately 25% of the vehicles manufactured in America in 2005 will be equipped to use E85, including popular SUV's such as the Ford Explorer, GMC Yukon, and Mercury Mountaineer. This adds to an estimated 4 million "Flexible Fuel Vehicles" (FFV) already on the road. It is estimated that over 98% of FFV owners are currently using regular gasoline due to lack of availability of E85. Refuel America's technology eliminates several performance problems associated with conventional ethanol-based fuels, including loss of fuel efficiency vs. gasoline and cold start reliability issues.

Biodiesel

A biodegradable, nontoxic and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics, biodiesel is an alternative resource based on soybean and other oil crops that are grown anew each year. It is produced domestically, reducing dependence on foreign oil. Biodiesel requires no engine modifications or changes in the fuel handling and delivery systems. Biodiesel delivers similar torque, horsepower and miles per gallon when compared to conventional diesel fuel, but is actually a cleaner burning fuel.

B20 is a blend of 20% Biodiesel with 80% conventional diesel. Although all diesel vehicles can use this fuel, it currently has limited use despite its strong capabilities (30m gallons in a total on-road diesel consumption of 36 billion gallons in 2004). Federal and state fleets are mandated to use B20 if available, to hit their targets for EPact and EO13149 compliance. Refuel America's technology enhances the performance of B20 by eliminating NOx and 'black smoke'. Refuel America is the ONLY B20 available that does not increase NOx, which has been a significant barrier to B20's widespread adoption.