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I think it’s worth noting that this is a much bigger play than being just for Porches own cars. Porsche own VW Group, they are the largest car manufacturer in t
by samwillis 5y ago
I think it’s worth noting that this is a much bigger play than being just for Porches own cars. Porsche own VW Group, they are the largest car manufacturer in the world, they are also a literal bank. They have the capital to invest in a “moonshot” type project.
So firstly, this is obviously important as a hedge for them - more options for the industry moving forward (we absolutely should not only be working on BEVs) / what if there is ever a lithium or mineral shortage due to geopolitical conflict.
Secondly, air flight! Battery’s will never have the energy density for longer than regional flight at a long shot. Most people agree that battery airplanes will only be successful for metropolitan flights <20km. A green, high energy density fuel is the only long term option for medium/long hall flight. Porsche want to own as much IP on that as possible and have the cash to invest.
- arethuza 5y agoI believe that Porsche SE are a holding company that own a majority share of VW Group who then own the Porsche company that makes cars - it is probably the latter who are making this fuel.
- samwillis 5y agoTrue, although they are mostly a cohesive operation sharing expertise and technology. For example the Porsche Taycan and Audi E-Tron GT are built on the same platform and are almost the same car. It’s main development was lead by Porsche but it’s technology will be used by the whole group. This may be being developed within the Porsche cars group but the plan is bigger than that. It’s just the PR that’s focused at the Porsche use case right now.
- dredmorbius 5y agoShips, aircraft, remote off-grid locations (for both power and heat), and portable tools would all benefit by carbon-neutral synfuels. Batteries work in some of these cases, but not all.