I take from that, that we will only get technological breakthroughs away from oil after we break everything down and rebuild from scratch. Because the economy that allowed setting up fuel infrastructure a century ago, is now a much tighter fit.
Comment on Airbus previews next-gen airliner with bird-inspired wings
Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee 1 week ago
Airbus explained that it ran the numbers and found that, while it could build a successful hydrogen airliner, the plane would be successful in the same way that Concorde was successful. In other words, a technological triumph, but a commercial failure.
Just like any other hydrogen powered… Anything.
MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 1 week ago
Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee 1 week ago
It’s more that Hydrogen is an inherently shit way of powering a vehicle, and liquid fuels are much easier to store and transport.
Biofuels are a much better option, in my view.
Nighed@feddit.uk 1 week ago
…then there should be regulatory actions to help make them viable
Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee 1 week ago
Subsidising an inherently flawed technology isn’t the way to go.
Nighed@feddit.uk 1 week ago
What are the other 0 carbon flight options? They are all flawed.
We can engineer our way through flaws with enough effort though.
Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee 1 week ago
Yes, but hydrogen has significantly more flaws than most other options. It’s been around for 50 years, has never been a commercial success, and just inherently kinda sucks.
echodot@feddit.uk 1 week ago
It’s because hydrogen is a terrible fuel. In theory it could work, but there were so many practical problems with compressing the hydrogen into storage tanks and then keeping it in those storage tanks but the amount of effort you have to go through to make it work completely negates any performance benefits.
scarabic@lemmy.world 1 week ago
But its only exhaust is PuRe wATeR!! /s
It still makes me LOL to see people tout this, when battery EVs don’t exhaust anything.
milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee 1 week ago
Alas, battery EV passenger jets are a long way off.
echodot@feddit.uk 6 days ago
They are without significant improvements in battery technology. Lithium Ion simply doesn’t have the energy density to be able to lift its own weight.
scarabic@lemmy.world 5 days ago
It’s true, but so is retooling aviation around hydrogen. This is just a prediction but I think before that ever happens, EITHER we’ll have light batteries that are safer and more effective that Lithium OR we’ll have carbon-neutral ways to produce hydrocarbon fuels that can be used with conventional aircraft.
Hydrogen has struck out on personal electronics and ground transportation. Now it’s angling for aviation where its energy density may matter more. But it hasn’t been losing because of energy density.
acosmichippo@lemmy.world 1 week ago
also very little hydrogen is actually green. in order to actually make hydrogen first you have to burn fossil fuels.