Per an article in today’s LA Times:
Porsche has no plan to make an electric version of its iconic 911 sports cars. So, how to ensure continued sale of its flagship model far into the future? … Porsche’s answer: carbon-neutral “synthetic” gasoline that could fuel engines in any cars, not just Porsches.
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… windmills in Chile would provide electricity to turn water into hydrogen fuel and oxygen. As part of the same process, carbon dioxide would be filtered from the air. The hydrogen and carbon dioxide would be combined to form methane, to be reformulated as a gasoline substitute. Because the carbon dioxide was already in the air, the resulting tailpipe emissions would add no greenhouse houses to the atmosphere.
Porsche launches effort to make carbon-neutral ‘e-gas’
Porsche’s answer: carbon-neutral “synthetic” gasoline that could fuel gas engines in any cars, not just Porsches.
Through a new pilot project the German maker of high-performance automobiles announced Wednesday, windmills in Chile would provide electricity to turn water into hydrogen. … As part of the same process, carbon dioxide would be filtered from the air. The hydrogen and carbon dioxide would be combined to form methane, to be reformulated as a gasoline substitute. Because the carbon dioxide was already in the air, the resulting tailpipe emissions would add no greenhouse houses to the atmosphere.
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The technologies that underlie the Porsche project are already proven and well understood. Water has been turned into hydrogen and oxygen for decades, through the process of electrolysis. Engineers have decades of experience turning methane into gasoline-like fuel as well. The increasing capacity of solar and wind energy makes a carbon-neutral process possible.
If this is true and achievable at a reasonable price, it’s an answer to our prayers. Any gap between the price of this e-gas and fossil methane can be covered by a tax on fossil methane.
The point is that we already have in place infrastructure for storing and distributing methane and for turning it into electricity, using it to propel transportation, and using it to cook and heat buildings.