> minimize the situation we are headed towards

agreed but the roll out of hybrids was the kind of distraction that slows this stuff down more than saves overall. The first hybrid was 1997 and it never took over because it was surpassed by full electric, obviating the technology from an enviromental perspective.

if this tech can be quickly spread and integrated for mining, agriculture and logistics in 2-5 years, great. but if its going to take 15 years to get to first production then it makes sense to hold out for higher standards.

but diesel work trucks are not free? The point was that a fuel cell was less significnat component of cost in something that costs 5 million vs 50,000

Thats an interesting claim. Considering that known reserves are estimated to be in the region of 70,000 metric tons and a fuel cell needs between 30 and 60 grams. that would mean we could produce between 4.167 million and 8.333 million fuel cells using 70,000 tons of platinum. granted this would be all of the platinum on earth but it should be noted that with materials as valuble as platnium we can consider mining asteroids. Davida is estimated to be worth 27 quintillion (26,990,000,000,000,000,000) U.S. dollars a lot of which is likely to be rare earth metals. but even at 4.1 million, these are powerplants that handle thigns like huge work trucks. they could easily handle hydrogen backups used when the wind does not blow and the sun is not shining.

It is strange that the focus is on making a diesel engine run with some hydrogen when hydrogen fuel cells would be a better fit for this type of truck. A company in Seattle has already demonstrated the effectiveness of this technology. Countries like Australia, which have abundant solar potential and mature mining industries, would be well-suited for this technology. The main issue with fuel cell technology is the high cost of platinum. While this is a significant concern for cars that are sold for a few thousand dollars, it is less of an issue for mining trucks like the electric drive Liebherr t282b, which has a price tag of $5 million and requires a similar amount of platinum. This situation is similar to when the Mythbusters program converted an older diesel car to run on cooking oil without significant modifications. While it is interesting, it begs the question of why we are focusing on preserving diesel engines instead.

https://firstmode.com/