Comment on Japan automakers play catch-up in EV race
PlatinumSf@pawb.social 10 months agoI’m not obsessed with efficency, but it is a useful metric to consider when thinking about the overall picture. Additionally I’ve not made your point. Solar still requires implementation, land use, and is finite in access to humanity despite the source being infinite. Producing hydrogen fuel with this consideration would automatically increase the required solar capacity by 20-40% based on current hydrogen production processes. In addition there are byproducts and downsides from creating traditional hydrocarbon based fuels in a renewable manner.
Hypx@kbin.social 10 months ago
Useful in isolation, but that is not what is happening here. People want to maximize the efficiency of a resource that is basically infinite in nature, while being fine with it destroying the rest of the environment in the process. It doesn't take much thought to realize that deprioritizing efficiency in favor of other factors is a much better compromise.
And this is even more stark when you realize that we are not merely prioritizing efficiency; we effectively have a cult of efficiency. One that maximizes the perception of efficiency even at the cost of actual efficiency. BEVs are still insanely inefficient compared to ideas like mass transit or walkable neighborhoods. A grid that runs entirely on renewable energy needs vast amounts of energy storage, which can't be solved by batteries without massive amounts of waste. A much smarter balance of solutions will actually reduce waste and improve efficiency. However, that imply that BEVs are a niche idea and aren't really needed in the grand scheme of things.
PlatinumSf@pawb.social 10 months ago
Absolutely agree with you when it comes to all of that, but I’m just saying after spending a pretty significant amount of time reading up on current ‘renewable’ hydrocarbon production it’s not what it’s cracked up to be. We should almost assuredly be investing in transport networks that are vastly more efficient and environmentally friendly than our current networks (light rail, bus networks, electric bikes, etc, etc), but it’s a far easier argument to talk someone into an BEV vehicle vs a ICE one than it is to get them to take the bus or petition their local council for better community transit, and like it or not new vehicles will continue to be made. Not sure what that says for us as a species, headed high speed towards self and environmental destruction, but at least BEVs seem to help lift the metaphorical foot off the accelerator. I hope we eventually get to a point where current transport networks look as outdated as horse and carriage to our descendants.
Hypx@kbin.social 10 months ago
Talking someone into a BEV is just laziness, and more greenwashing than a serious solution. It's not even easier, as you now need a garage and tolerance for long recharge times and less range. The actual easiest idea would be to create a drop-in replacement for ICE cars. E-fuels are an option. Hydrogen cars are similarly straightforward as a possibility.
BEVs are at best a transitional idea. All it seems to be good for is to change people's minds on green transportation. But it won't get us to the promise land. There are too many problems, and the resource requirements mean they create huge new problems of their own. We need to push for whatever that can best get rid of fossil fuel cars, which would be something else.
PlatinumSf@pawb.social 10 months ago
I disagree with you there. Most of the common affordable BEVs are perfectly capable of providing required transport as a drop in replacement for most people I’ve met. Charging infrastructure is also extremely cheap and easy to implement. Implenting mass scale ‘e-fuel’ is a pipe dream requiring significantly more infrastructure and funding than available and reasonable. A good place to look is at F-1 or Porsche who are both building renewable hydrocarbon fuel networks. Both demonstrate that the economics and environmental costs just do not work out unless there’s an engineering reason to do it (like producing high density light fuel). Meanwhile if we migrate a camery driver from their 4 banger to a mid-range BEV they’ll be hard pressed to notice except in the 0.1% of long range travel which could be handled by flight, rental, or mass ground transport depending on travel needs. Additionally their fuel costs will drop significantly as they charge at home with low cost outlet electricity (which can then be a centralized focus for a governmental body to regulate and transition to environmentally friendly renewables like wind/solar), eliminating the need for expensive and energy intensive fuel delivery supply chains, stations, and frameworks. BEVs are just better than ICE in most regards when you look at the overall picture and don’t discount the unseen costs.
bobgusford@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Hydrogen is a dead end, because it is nowhere near green to produce it in large quantities, and the technology is still not ready, nor is the supply network. It’s just an idea pushed by fossil fuel companies hoping to transition to selling hydrogen.
E-fuels are not zero emission, but the basic premise is that somewhere else along the chain it reduced GhG emissions into the atmosphere - like capturing methane from cow burps, or biogas from garbage dumps.
These fuels will have uses - hydrogen in rockets and e-fuels for aircraft - but for almost all land vehicles, BEVs or going electric, is the most readily available and working strategy.