An innovative new hybrid research vehicle being developed by Ford Motor Company has a dual mission: help reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

At the Washington Auto Show, Ford unveiled the Ford Escape Hybrid E85, a research vehicle marrying two petroleum-saving technologies – hybrid electric power and flexible-fuel capability. Escape Hybrid E85 is the world’s first hybrid vehicle capable of operating on blends of fuel containing as much as 85 percent ethanol, a renewable fuel that can be produced from American-grown corn or sugar beets. And ethanol use releases no fossil-based CO 2, so its use as a fuel in place of gasoline reduces the release of greenhouse gases.

According to Ford, the company will introduce several new hybrids in the coming years, including a Mazda Tribute Hybrid next year and hybrid versions of the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan mid-size sedans in 2008. Next up, in the 2008 to 2010 time period, will be hybrid versions of the Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego full-size sedans, and the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers.

E85 is a fuel blend that contains 85 percent ethanol and only 15 percent gasoline. Ethanol is a completely renewable fuel that in the U.S. most commonly is made from corn. Gasoline sold in the U.S. frequently contains up to 10 percent ethanol, but an increasing number of vehicles on the road today can operate on blends containing up to 85 percent ethanol.

If just 5 percent of the U.S. vehicle fleet were powered by hybrids operating exclusively on E85, imports of oil could be reduced by about 140 million barrels a year. Such a savings would increase U.S. energy security, improve the nation’s balance of payments and support America ’s agricultural economy.

Additionally, ethanol-fueled hybrids could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ford Escape Hybrid, already the world’s cleanest and most fuel-efficient small SUV, would produce about 25 percent less carbon dioxide if operated exclusively on renewable E85 ethanol fuel instead of carbon-rich gasoline.

Ford recently announced a project with VeraSun Energy Corporation to encourage the further availability of E85 fuel at retail filling stations. Today, E85 is most commonly available in parts of the Midwest .

Further expanding the popularity of both hybrids and the use of ethanol-based fuels would significantly reduce American oil imports and greenhouse gas emissions until the day when hydrogen becomes widely used as a fuel for internal combustion engines or as a source of electric power produced by hydrogen fuel cells.