Quote Originally Posted by pcosmar View Post
True enough.. except that Hydrogen is Not Fantasy..
And where Petroleum is limited,, Hydrogen is NOT.

Petroleum still has uses,, and some places ICE engines may be a Best solution.
But it will never reach the efficiency that Electric already holds.

Max efficiency for I.C.E. is 50%.. Current Production Electric Motors have a 94% efficiency rating.

Efficient use of Energy.
Diesel doesnt necessarily mean petro (I was speaking to biomass based fuel - very renewable and near infinite abundance). I was also speaking in terms general practicality - that's where I will argue that hydrogen is fantasy.

I would argue further that internal combustion engines can achieve higher than 50%, especially when coupled with hybrid electric technology, but the real point here is what constitutes efficiency? You mention the electric motor itself, and may not consider where the energy comes from. What does it take to produce hydrogen? If the answer was that it just magically appeared, I would agree 100% with you on general practicality. Aside from that, I can agree that the power density is impressive with hydrogen, which makes it very suitable for niche applications where that density benefit offsets other costs, but I think its over sold on pretty much everything else.

This is why I argue that diesel and biomass fuel technology are worth investment - perhaps more so than hydrogen. It would be cool to have a hydrogen powered hoverboard, but I think its a mistake to dismiss "oh hum diesel" as a present solution to energy/environment challenges.

Why climb to the highest limbs in the pursuit of ripe fruit when there are perfectly ripe fruit within arm's reach, near the ground? Maybe its not fruit that some are after, but rather the bragging rights for climbing to the highest limbs to get the fruit?