CNBC Presents "BEYOND THE BARREL: THE RACE TO FUEL THE FUTURE" On Thursday, April 22nd At 8PM ET

There is an amazing race going on right now around the world to find the fuel of the future. More than three decades after the oil shocks shook America, the United States and the rest of the industrialized world is still addicted to oil. But now, for the first time in a generation, plans to break the black gold stranglehold are closer than ever to becoming a reality.

On Thursday, April 22nd at 8PM ET, CNBC will broadcast a one-hour special, "Beyond the Barrel: The Race to Fuel the Future," anchored by CNBC's Carl Quintanilla. The one-hour program will showcase the bottled promises ready to be unleashed from the Middle East, South America, Asia and here at home. This CNBC original production will introduce viewers to more than a dozen potential game changing innovations to power our planet. "Beyond the Barrel: The Race to Fuel the Future" will also take a critical look at why we are still years away from putting these ideas into practice.

CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, will cover this story from across the globe:

* CNBC's Jane Wells will look at parts of the American west where new solar towns are popping up all over the map.
* CNBC's Brian Shactman travels to Bolivia to report on the Country's untapped reserves that can be used for new battery technology and change the way we use energy forever.
* NBC's Adrienne Mong reports from China, a country accused of being a serial polluter. But at the same time, China's green-tech industry is catching up with the world's traditional leaders very quickly as they mass-produce the equipment and materials needed to create new forms of energy.

Additionally, Quintanilla will profile a small start-up in northern California that's working to turn toxic emissions literally into building blocks for tomorrow. Plus, Quintanilla will go one-on-one with the OPEC ministers who say there's no way the world will replace oil anytime soon and he'll talk to the naysayers who believe we'll be addicted to oil forever.