Quote:
Originally Posted by photon
Because all such engines are horribly inefficient.
You're comparing hydrogen to gasoline. That's great if you can get to 30% efficiency from 20% or something, but I'm comparing hydrogen to fuel cells or batteries, where it's more like 60%+.
|
Yes, converting chemical energy to mechanical energy in an internal combustion engine is indeed inefficient. My point is that using hydrogen in internal combustion engines to partially or wholly displace fossil fuels can result in efficiency gains that offsets the net energy loss from the production of hydrogen. This is easily proven, as per the videos I embedded earlier.
If the world can get rid of all internal combustion engines and replace them with electric motors and replace all furnaces and boilers with electric heaters, I would understand better why you feel there is no place at all for hydrogen combustion. But I don't see that happening at all.