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I'm not convinced that battery-powered vehicles are a better idea than using that same energy to manufacture fossil fuels from atmospheric CO2. We could be usi

I'm not convinced that battery-powered vehicles are a better idea than using that same energy to manufacture fossil fuels from atmospheric CO2. We could be using gasoline in cars 100 years from now, only the gas is a storage mechanism for nuke/solar.

beat 13y ago
It's a thermal efficiency problem. Yes, you can theoretically turn atmospheric gasses (CO2 and water) into gasoline, but it requires a LOT more energy to create than you get out of it by burning on the back end. If there's sufficient surplus solar energy one of these days, it's great. Gasoline is just about the perfect energy source for vehicles, but petroleum is kind of a nasty source for gasoline. Unfortunately, it's the only net energy positive one.