In 2007, China firmly established itself as the driver of the global methanol industry. The country became the world’s largest methanol producer and consumer. China also leads the world in the use of methanol as an alternative transportation fuel, blending nearly one billion gallons of methanol in gasoline last year. Taxi and bus fleets are running on high methanol blends (M-85 to M-100) [Pictured, taxi refueling with M-100], and retail pumps sell low level blends (M-15 or less) in many parts of the country. At the same time, China is developing production capacity for dimethyl ether (DME) – using coal-based methanol as a feedstock – for markets as a blendstock with liquid petroleum gas (LPG) used for home hearing and cooking and a as diesel substitute for buses.