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> The theory is that you make "electro fuels" compatible with existing ICE vehicles Outside of classic/antique cars, why would we want to keep existing ICE ve
by danans 4y ago
> The theory is that you make "electro fuels" compatible with existing ICE vehicles
Outside of classic/antique cars, why would we want to keep existing ICE vehicles long term? After a couple decades, the few remaining ICE vehicle niches will probably still be served by petroleum-derived fuels or bio-methanol, not synthetic hydrocarbons.
- sandworm101 4y agoSubtrack the emissions and an IC engine has any number of advantages, from range and refuel time, to recycling potential. Steel is far far easier to recycle than any battery tech.
- hotpotamus 4y agoWell, a couple decades from now is still a couple decades away for one thing. For another, some things like long haul trucking or air travel may be harder to directly electrify.
- mywittyname 4y agoIt seems like electric rail would make a great replacement for long-haul trucking.
- danans 4y agoI can't imagine synthetic hydrocarbon fuels being anywhere near cost competitive with either petroleum or bio derived hydrocarbons in the next couple decades. Switching long haul trucking to renewable hydrogen would make much more sense, since weight is an issue. Air travel is tougher. In the near term we will start blending waste oil based sustainable aviation fuel. Longer term people have suggested directly burning liquid hydrogen. The biggest near term CO2 reductions will come from switching to renewables for electricity. We have the tech to make major strides on that front now.
- hotpotamus 4y agoThe site I linked originally has a whitepaper on the economics of the business and thinks it should end up cheaper than conventional fossil fuel drilling. I'm not familiar with bio derived hydrocarbons other than ethanol, but that doesn't seem all that promising from anything I've heard about. The founder left his job as a NASA software engineer to start it up, so he's probably not a dummy. He could certainly be wrong though.
- maigret 4y agoRight, the associated talking point is that it might be impossible to replace the worlds cars fast enough to reduce the emissions in the next 5 years. Also some people think battery production will hit a hard limit because of resources. I can’t judge 100% but I have a personal opinion on those points.