America drives for biofuel to beat its addiction to oil

In 1908 when Henry T Ford launched the Model T Ford, the grandfather of the modern motor industry believed ethanol — not petrol — would power the first generation of mass-produced vehicles.

Ethanol, an alcohol distilled from plants, had powered his first car, the Quadricycle. Ethanol, said Ford, was “the fuel of the future”. It would take a century for his vision to come true.