Comment on Japan automakers play catch-up in EV race

Hypx@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

• You999@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  E-fuel? So like what? Electricity…

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  • Hypx@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    It's fuel made using electricity as the energy source.

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    • You999@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      The problem with fuels made from electricity is that pesky thing called thermodynamics. If an efuel was developed that was more efficient than electricity then we’d be able to use it to produce more electricity than we put in.

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      • Hypx@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

        You avoid the giant, expensive battery though. People are obsessed with efficiency in a self-defeating way.

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      • Nighed@sffa.community ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

        Lots of fuels (like petrol) are a lot more energy dense than out best batteries. If we can synthesize fuels like that just using electricity as an energy source (that can be generated from renewables) then you have a carbon free dense store of energy that can be used to power a vehicle for a long distance without refueling.

        The problem with these (fuel cells etc) is that the conversation rate is inefficient, wasting a lot of energy. As we are not using 100% renewable energy this means carbon is being released still.

        If we had an entirely renewable energy grid (with oversupply when sunny/windy etc) then those energy losses would not matter.

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• Exec@pawb.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Or just move to building proper public transport like Europe did.

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  • EnderMB@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    Europe is a huge continent. What do you mean, exactly?

    The UK is in Europe, and in many cities here the public transport options are terrible, with driving being the only safe option, as cycling is very dangerous on our roads.

    There are also huge parts of France, Italy, and Germany where public transport is poor, expensive, or infrequent.

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• nomecks@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  I can charge my EV in the garage and not have to stand at a gas station in -30. Why on Earth would I want a less convenient hydrogen or other fuel car?

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  • Hypx@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    Because not everyone has a garage, and you still have to use the equivalent of gas stations if you're travelling long distances.

    In reality, BEVs pre-date ICE cars. They were abandoned because they were found to be less practical. The vast majority of people actually want gas stations and not the reverse.

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    • nomecks@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      We’re still in the early adoption stage. They were less practical because batteries were absolute trash 100 years ago. The vast majority of people want a car that will fill fast and go far. They don’t care how it happens.

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      • Hypx@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

        We are also in the early adoption phase of other technologies. They will be far cheaper and more practical than what they are now. At some point, we have cars that are exactly as practical and cheap as conventional cars, only zero emissions. That is likely the end of the BEV.

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    • huginn@feddit.it ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      If you don’t have a garage you don’t need a car

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      • Hypx@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

        If only...

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      • Nighed@sffa.community ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

        I’m going to say that less than 30% of houses here in the UK have a garage/carport etc (either individual or shared).

        Most of the individual garages will be sized to fit an old mini, not a modern car (even a small one)

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• WallEx@feddit.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  Yeah, quit using the efficient stuff, we need something similarly inefficient as gas powered cars.

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  • Hypx@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

    Batteries are unsustainable and have massive resource requirements. It's basically an obsession with "efficiency" while actually being extremely wasteful.

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    • WallEx@feddit.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

      You say that while promoting the idea of more inefficient energy transfer systems. Electric motors operate above 90%, traditional motors around 25-30%. Try to mitigate that with wasting more energy by creating an artificial fuel is even more wasteful.

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      • Hypx@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

        Solar panels are only 15-20% efficient. No one is going around saying we need to ban solar panels.

        Fuels made from solar power are the opposite of unsustainable. They are the most sustainable ideas possible. It is basically artificial photosynthesis.

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• Nighed@sffa.community ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

  I’m going to say that if you can charge at home, then electric cars are awesome, otherwise a HFC style car might be better.

  Both are going to require significant infrastructure build out, but electric chargers are much easier to install.

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