Using biomass for electricity instead of ethanol[edit]
Converting biomass to electricity for charging electric vehicles may be a more "climate-friendly" transportation option than using biomass to produce ethanol fuel, according to an analysis published in Science in May 2009[85] "You make more efficient use of the land and more efficient use of the plant biomass by making electricity rather than ethanol", said Elliott Campbell, an environmental scientist at the University of California at Merced, who led the research. "It's another reason that, rather than race to liquid biofuels, we should consider other uses of bio-resources".
For bioenergy to become a widespread climate solution, technological breakthroughs are necessary, analysts say.[who?] Researchers continue to search for more cost-effective developments in both cellulosic ethanol and advanced vehicle batteries.[86]