From the Wine Cellar to the Bowser: Can Australia Power Cars on Surplus Vino?

Australia is currently sitting on a massive mountain of surplus wine—hundreds of millions of litres with absolutely nowhere to go. At the same time, fuel prices at the bowser are making everyday Aussies wince. It sounds like the ultimate "two birds, one stone" solution: take that excess Chardonnay and convert it into ethanol biofuel to power the nation. But is this a stroke of green genius or just a scientific pipe dream? Brent is joined by Dr Cathryn O’Sullivan, Senior Research Scientist from the CSIRO, to separate the political spin from the engineering reality. They break down the massive logistical hurdles of moving 262 million litres of liquid across the country, the exact science behind turning Shiraz into petrol. Can we really run our cars on the dregs of the wine industry, or does the energy it takes to "fix" the wine outweigh the fuel it produces? Hit play to find out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.