Ethanol, a biofuel derived from corn, is used in the production of both gasoline and pharmaceutical-grade hand sanitizer. During the pandemic, as the demand for gasoline plummeted, several producers of ethanol retrofitted their plants by purchasing new capital in order to produce a higher-quality ethanol, which could be used to make a medical-grade hand sanitizer. Future decisions about whether to produce ethanol for gasoline or for hand sanitizer – be informed by the – costs they incurred to retrofit their plant.