I'm not an expert, at all, so take this with some salt. I sometimes wonder if the electric approach is fundamentally misguided. It's possible to synthesize liquid fuels from carbon dioxide or monoxide plus hydrogen plus heat. These are proven technologies used both historically and today, at large scale.
All it takes is to swap out the source of hydrogen, CO2 and heat from one that is fossil-fuel derived, to one that is nuclear or renewable derived. I have no idea on the economics, admittedly. But it would be practical technologically, to synthesize essentially unlimited amounts of carbon-neutral methane or methanol that would be usable directly in turbines, internal combustion engines, and so on. Uranium, water, and air in -> methanol out.
Given there is no ready substitute for fossil fuels when it comes to air travel and shipping, I do hope this is pursued. Last I heard Rolls-Royce was investigating using SMRs to synthesize fuel for aviation needs: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-06/rolls-roy...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabatier_reaction
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanol_economy
I'm not an expert, at all, so take this with some salt. I sometimes wonder if the electric approach is fundamentally misguided. It's possible to synthesize liquid fuels from carbon dioxide or monoxide plus hydrogen plus heat. These are proven technologies used both historically and today, at large scale.
All it takes is to swap out the source of hydrogen, CO2 and heat from one that is fossil-fuel derived, to one that is nuclear or renewable derived. I have no idea on the economics, admittedly. But it would be practical technologically, to synthesize essentially unlimited amounts of carbon-neutral methane or methanol that would be usable directly in turbines, internal combustion engines, and so on. Uranium, water, and air in -> methanol out.
Given there is no ready substitute for fossil fuels when it comes to air travel and shipping, I do hope this is pursued. Last I heard Rolls-Royce was investigating using SMRs to synthesize fuel for aviation needs: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-06/rolls-roy...