the upside all depends on funding
I think that the market will eventually come to him (us) if he can wait it out. Pretty much all the ethanols got hit with over exhuberance early on then took a big hit when it wore off.
Initially he had a lot of reach (initial exhuberant funding/stock buying), kid in a candy store on leveraged acquisitions, but now it seems that reach has exheeded grasp. This big framework mapped out but now the expected market supports haven't materialized yet, the ground collapsing beneath, not much there to support the weight .
Despite it being _the_ short term energy solution, not so much because it is a good solution but because the government is disposed to support it, ethanol is taking a lot longer to reach "critical mass" than many would have hoped.
Due to the conflict between corn for energy and corn for food, the rising price of corn is giving would-be ethanol producers and investors pause. It's like mining. When the extraction and refining cost go up, you have a problem. Also, the ever-manipulated price of crude is lower now for some reason, so, while bolstering our consumption-based economy, or at least, expectatons, a bit, it also puts a dampener on alternate energy.
Eventually something is going re-spike oil and then the race will be on again.
Xlpi needs to summon some staying power, even if it means imploding some tendrils of the grand plan inward perhaps.
Maybe he could sell some of the spare office furniture. With fewer employees now they probably won't need all of it, for a while at least... <g>
I still see Lubrilon as a White Elephant for the forseeable future. People buy Penzoil or Mobil mainly because they are informed (programmed for brand recognition) by national advertising. XL is in no position to provide that. So let's say it's a good viable product for ethanol protection etc. The trade secret/formula, inventory, what-not might be seen as attractive to some oil outfit that already has shelf space in stores (and money). The white elephant might still be good for meat. They (we) need something to live on until the ship comes in...
It seems to me could do just fine with XLPI aftermarket conversion units for many years. Apparently it's the sole revenue source right now, carrying the company as it were on it's poor little embryonic shoulders.
Then there is still the garbage to liquids / coal to liquids thing to resurect when ethanol starts to peak.
