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Steel I wouldn't even consider particularly hard to electrify. Most steel, at least in the US, is from scrap metal sources melted in an electric arc furnace, an
by Robotbeat 5y ago
Steel I wouldn't even consider particularly hard to electrify. Most steel, at least in the US, is from scrap metal sources melted in an electric arc furnace, and all of the iron ore smelting furnaces built in the last few decades actually use a mix of hydrogen (and carbon monoxide) already, usually with natural gas as the feedstock. The same technique works well even with >90% hydrogen (steel only contains a small amount of carbon).
And I'd say most airline travel could also be electrified directly, although it'll take cleansheet designs. Cement might be the hardest because it will produce CO2 even if you produce the clinker electrically with clean electricity.
- bryanlarsen 5y agoCould steel become a carbon sink if we use atmospheric carbon in the smelting? There are (at least) four potential solutions for air travel: batteries, hydrogen or using fuels synthesized using either atmospheric carbon directly or indirectly via plants. I dislike the massive arable land requirements of bio-fuels, so I hope one of the other three wins. I'd bet on synthetic fuels but all three are fine. Air travel is at the stage cars were in the 90s. We had prototype EV's and prototype Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and didn't know which would win. Both were crazy expensive, and both had too many compromises to seem acceptable.