Re:Prometheus: Fuel from the Air
by ZeroGravitas on Wednesday August 17, 2022 @04:38AM
(#32493841)
In more traditional units:
Prometheus can turn 77kwh of electrcity into 1 gallon of fuel.
Jet plane with range of about 7000km has 52000 gallons so roughly
4GWh of electrical energy in to make the fuel, about half of which is lost as heat and the other half moves the plane.
So the real question is, do you have a better use for that 4GWh of electrical energy? (Or more generally, and back to car size would you prefer 77Kwh of electricity or a gallon of fuel?)
Carbon free electricity so cheap that you can make carbon containing fuels for less than fossil fuels is like a very heavy carbon tax in impact. Yes you can do whatever you like with the fuels, but since you pay directly for it, the market will respond by finding cheaper and more efficient ways to do the same thing, using the electricity directly or as a cheaper to convert fuel.
Their pitch kind of makes sense for long distance flight, but unless it's a classic car that you only drive once a year, this fuel will have the exact same impact as a heavy carbon tax on the market for motor vehicles i.e. they'll be scrapped and replaced with EVs that are cheaper and cleaner to run.
Prometheus can turn 77kwh of electrcity into 1 gallon of fuel.
Jet plane with range of about 7000km has 52000 gallons so roughly
4GWh of electrical energy in to make the fuel, about half of which is lost as heat and the other half moves the plane.
So the real question is, do you have a better use for that 4GWh of electrical energy? (Or more generally, and back to car size would you prefer 77Kwh of electricity or a gallon of fuel?)
Carbon free electricity so cheap that you can make carbon containing fuels for less than fossil fuels is like a very heavy carbon tax in impact. Yes you can do whatever you like with the fuels, but since you pay directly for it, the market will respond by finding cheaper and more efficient ways to do the same thing, using the electricity directly or as a cheaper to convert fuel.
Their pitch kind of makes sense for long distance flight, but unless it's a classic car that you only drive once a year, this fuel will have the exact same impact as a heavy carbon tax on the market for motor vehicles i.e. they'll be scrapped and replaced with EVs that are cheaper and cleaner to run.