Flying "cars" on H

[BSdetect]

A pound of compressed H has 200 times as much energy as a pound of batteries.

https://www.wired.com/story/alakai-flying-car-air-taxi-evtol-hydrogen/

And recent breakthroughs in H production costs and speed make this even more feasible.

[Miguelito Loveless]

1. There are two ways to create H2

1) From methane, which is where 95% off our current stockpiles come from. So, that means continuing to drill/frack and pollute the environment.

2) From electrolysis, which is very energy intensive, making H2 a highly inefficient compared to battery power. Best case scenario, it takes 50kWh of energy to create 1kg of H2. 1 kg of H2 will allow a fuel cell car to travel 62 miles. However, the same amount of energy would allow the average BEV to drive 175 miles.

Battery energy density has been slowly improving over the years, and we will probably see a jump of 20% this year thanks to several improvements in a dry anode coating process. This would put batteries at aroung 300Wh/kg, enough to power smaller planes. In ten years (maybe sooner if solid state batteries problems are solved) we will hit 500Wh/kg, which makes a lot of larger planes possible.

H2 probably has some energy applications for hybrid planes, trains and ships, but it is pretty much being ruled out for highway transport.

[Wounded Bear]

2. Need to power electrolysis with solar...

virtually free.

[BSdetect]

3. And cheaper to store H than batteries.

[Wounded Bear]

4. And quite a bit less toxic...

All battery technologies have "unpleasant" materials in them and pose a risk to the environment.

H2 is explosive, of course, but releasing it into the atmosphere is pretty benign.

[Miguelito Loveless]

6. Cobalt has been reduced 90% in the current genereation of batteries

will be eliminated in next gen. As to other materials, batteries are completely recyclable, and far cleaner than any ICE car. FC cars still have batteries, but not as large. Creating the H2 cheaply means using methane, and GHG 8x more potent than C02. Using electrolysis is highly inefficient as I have demonstrated.

Other components in battery are lithium, graphite, manganese, nickel, and aluminum. All recyclable. LiFePo batteries (Lithium, Iron phosphate) are now being rolled out in China by Tesla for their M3 cars. Again, all recyclable.

[Miguelito Loveless]

7. Look up the term "hydrogen embrittlement"

H2 storage facilities require a lot more maintenance than Li-Ion batteries, and are far less forgiving of neglected maintenance.

[Miguelito Loveless]

5. Even if free, you still get way less energy out of the system.

50kWh = 1kg H2

1kg H2 = 63 miles (Toyota Mirai gets 312 miles from 5kg of H2. 312/5=62.5)

50kWh --> Nissan Leaf @3.5 miles/kWh = 175 miles
50kWh --> Tesla Model 3 @4 miles/kWh = 200 miles

Cost of an H2 fueling stations - Approx $2 million
Cost of 8 Stall Super Charger - Approx $250K

H2 retains the current retail model that requires you to take your car to a special place to get fuel.
BEV allows you to charge at home.
# of H2 Stations in the U.S. <60
# of Tesla Superchargers in U.S. 760+
# of Public Chargers in U.S. L2 50K+, Fast Chargers 10,800+

Current cost of 1kg of H2 = $12-$15
Current cost of 1kWh of electricity (U.S. avg) 12¢/kWh

Current cost to fill up a Mirai: $60-$75 (cost per mile minimum 19¢)
Current cost to fill up a Bolt: $7.20 (cost per mile minimum 3¢)