No— it is more viable to set up cryogenic hydrogen infrastructure at an airport than replacing our gas stations with hydrogen stations along our roads today. Additionally, the amount of cooling, insulation, and pressurization equipment required will almost certainly be far too large and expensive to fit in a $20-30k passenger vehicle.
Realistically, if we assume a decarbonized future, it’s seeming that battery electric will be used in most small passenger vehicles (cars and trucks today), whereas hydrogen will be used in heavy equipment (construction, extraction, military) and aviation.
Fuel cells can be more efficient than combustion because of direct electrification. With combustion, there needs to be a boiler, turbine, etc and that adds to the losses through the system.
At industrial scale, it is possible a turbine and boiler is probably the better bet, because the technology is very mature and large fuel cells may pose extra challenges with sourcing the membranes. It would need a more in-depth cost analysis.
Toyota only seems to work on alternative fuels for the PR and propaganda, unfortunately.
That’s always been slightly better than almost every other car manufacturer, which pretends only oil exists, but not by much since they are basically gaslighting us all.
Naa, they know that without a major leap in battery capabilities, hydrogen is way easier to swap over to. Existing gas stations can be converted quickly, you can fill up a hydrogen car in a few seconds/minutes unlike EVs, and the current ICE’s can be basically reused to handle hydrogen (the design not the motor in your current car just the design). It’s a no brainier to go towards this.
I agree with all of that but the issue is between the governments and the manufacturers both seeming to want the other to roll out the upgraded infrastructure, it puts hydrogen in a chicken and an egg situation of us waiting to see which comes first, the cars or the chargers.
At least with electric you simply need to swap out the sources at the ground level to something cleaner(something we’re doing anyways), and you can safely plug in anywhere.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of hydrogen, but as a scientist, it’s the implementation that has me worried.
I see the most likely outcome being legislated electric charging at petrol stations(like Germany has just done), possibly with subsidies, while the bulk of hydrogen infrastructure is private investment.
Once a bean counter finds it more valuable to retrofit a truck fleet with hydrogen and set up their own refuelling stations at distribution centres - i.e. for journeys that can be completed in one tank load - you bet the hydrogen will start to flow. From there it’ll be up to the service station network to figure out if it’s worthwhile to put infrastructure in at certain larger truck stops.
By the time we get there, the trucks will be mostly autonomous and the driver probably just an emergency role - so they’ll run as close to 24/7 as possible and the reduced refuelling time will have a substantial impact. It’ll either be that, or some sort of massive battery bank transfer system the truck can pull into to have it’s battery swapped - but batteries are heavy, and automating that would be inordinately expensive. Hydrogen seems more feasible a fossil fuel replacement when trip length/refueling time are your main concerns
You nailed it. At the end of the day, EVs are really only practical for people who don’t drive much. Not only that, you would absolutely need a battery swap system. Or each gas station would need to become a damn substation for the power company. Trying to draw that much power is unfeasible.
The commercial trucks could fit the equipment, yes. However, you also need to consider the infrastructure. What would be the investment required to replace every truck stop with hydrogen refilling stations?
Could it be done? Yes. Is it the most likely option? Harder to say.
I do remember hearing about these some time ago. Would like to see this as a viable option here in the States. Have no idea if that will happen, though.
Do you really think it’s going to make much of a difference whether the ambient temperature is 37C or 0C when the hydrogen needs to be stored at -252C?
To be fair, the ambient temperature being 37°C versus 0°C already makes a significant difference in terms of e.g. the air density and the amount of lift the wings get, how easy or hard it is to start up the engines, whether ice is a problem, etc.
If the 15% difference in delta also translates to a 15% cost/efficiency difference, then that can absolutely make the difference in whether the technology is economically viable to apply at scale compared to its alternatives.
In particular, people with ASD have a greater tendency to wander - that is, they may leave a safe area in search of a retreat away from overstimulation (eg, crowds, noise or other stimuli) and may naturally gravitate towards water as a means of alleviating their sensory needs but without understanding the risks
Thanks for the help Oprah! But I don’t know if any of the good will you spread will ever make up for all your wrongs and harm to society, including “doctor” Phil and Oz
$1200 a month to people who have no homes in the highest COL state in the US
It’s great they’re doing that, but Lahaina is also the most expensive part of Maui to live in. For reference, rent in the cheapest part of Maui in Wailuku can easily go for $1400-$1500 for a ~300sqft studio.
According to a quick web search, Oprah Winfrey has a net worth of 2.5 billion as of 2023. Dwayne Johnson has an estimated 800 million. Assuming they donated equal parts, that’s 5 million each, or 0.2% and 0.625% of their net worth each.
In other words, if I have 100k to my name and donate 200 bucks to this, it hurts me just as much as it hurts Oprah.
Let’s not pretend they are doing any more than good publicity here for cents and pennies. Yes it helps people and that commendable, but this is chump change thrown into a beggars hat.
I don’t have 100k. I don’t even have 10k to my name, perhaps if you added up the original retail value of all my worldly possessions. Just making a point
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