garlicroastedpotato t1_je3bbe8 wrote on March 29, 2023 at 2:32 AM

Reply to comment by DonQuixBalls in The Swiss hypersonic hydrogen jet aiming to fly between Europe and Australia in 4 hours by mancinedinburgh

That's an incredibly mundane distinction. Most things we call energy are just storing energy. Gas isn't energy until we get combustion.

DonQuixBalls t1_je3do9x wrote on March 29, 2023 at 2:51 AM

It's a monumental distinction. Petroleum is energy that was created 66-250 million years ago. 100% of commercial hydrogen was created in your lifetime, but about as likely within the last year.

If you generate electricity and transmit it for use in a car battery, you end up with at least 70-80% of it going to the wheel. With hydrogen, that same electricity results in only 25-30% making it to the wheel.

The only thing that makes that 25-30% improve is by scrapping electrolysis (the only green hydrogen available) in favor of reformed natural gas, which is just fossil fuel with extra steps and less efficiency.

So the alternative to battery electric powertrains is building 3x as many power plants to use hydrogen, or using more fossil fuel. Neither of those are the solution we're looking for.

garlicroastedpotato t1_je3gn8z wrote on March 29, 2023 at 3:16 AM

But oil isn't energy, the combustion creates the energy. Petroleum is just fuel.

And I called hydrogen fuel. Because that's what it is. Fuel is a method of storing chemical energy.

Most things we call energy are actually just storing energy. When we're talking about energy we're not talking about something as mundane solar power generation, turning turbines or internal combustion.