Thread: Fossil Fuel Alternatives

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

When we get back to Thailand we will be looking to buy a car. We have a Mitsubishi mirage, that we got for when we were visiting there. But if we live there full time we need something bigger. So I am looking at all available options.
I would like to go electric, but I looked at the MG ZS EV , and it has a range of 380 km. at that range we would not even be able to drive to BKK.
The PHEV is an option but the increase in purchase premium for it , will never cover the savings in fuel .
So it looks like a conventional ICE vehicle would be in order, unless the government offers some type of incentive to offset the extra purchasing cost.

The other problem is that, If you run out of fuel people will pull over to help and go get a can for you and come back. If you run out of juice you have to get a towtruck to take you to a powerpoint. At the moment the best alternative in Thailand is LPG or CNG and even with them it has to be dual-fuel, and then there is the stigma of when you want to resell or trade up that the vehicle had gas on it, over here it will de-value the vehicle for resale, It's automatically thought of as a long haul or taxi. And as far as the government offering offsets for vehicles, Think about the repercussions of that from the 95% of people that cant afford or that type is not available to them to haul the products.
In Thailand there has been no mandated use of renewables or power saving lightbulbs etc, Yet They are gaining popularity and and expanding, and university students are inventing solar pond airaters, Solar panel installers are popping up everywhere, And a bad side might be that the rich 1% in Thailand are buying up farmland to place solar farms on them for profit.
The one thing that we all know for certain is that we need energy, to cook, to sanitize, to keep warm, we used to do it with with wood or dung and if everything ever goes to shit we will be doing it that way all over again.

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

When we get back to Thailand we will be looking to buy a car. We have a Mitsubishi mirage, that we got for when we were visiting there. But if we live there full time we need something bigger. So I am looking at all available options.
I would like to go electric, but I looked at the MG ZS EV , and it has a range of 380 km. at that range we would not even be able to drive to BKK.
The PHEV is an option but the increase in purchase premium for it , will never cover the savings in fuel .
So it looks like a conventional ICE vehicle would be in order, unless the government offers some type of incentive to offset the extra purchasing cost.

Are there no hybrids?

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Are there no hybrids?

Toyota Camry Hybrid. ซื้อขายรถบ้าน เร็วกว่า.ถูกกว่า.ดีกว่า

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

The beauty of Plug in Hybrids (PHEV) is that they can operate for the first 20-30 miles just on buttery, and since most of your daily driving is with in 30 miles, most of the time you are on EV mode, and you can charge overnight when electric rates are low.
Hybrids have the same issue, Money spend to buy VS savings in fuel. So what is the difference in gas mileage between two comparable hybrid and no hybrid cars? But i have looked in the different car company websites and I have not seen any hybrids, which is kind of strange, For instance almost all of the Suzuki swifts sold in Europe are hybrids, none in Thailand.
I have really not seriously looked at hybrids in Thailand because of my stated reasons, so I might have missed missed a couple of models. if so please let me know and I will take a look at them.

Hybrids are here, just Google.
Lets go a little more into it, What happens to the batteries when they are out of service after say the 2nd or 3rd owner,in Thailand it will be> Land fill?>Rain?>Ground water?>Fish ponds?>Home Crops?>Durian farms?>Estuaries?

Well Mitsubishi, Toyota and Honda have all said they would be making hybrids in Thailand but I don't know if any of them are doing it yet, let alone whether they are for the domestic market.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Well Mitsubishi, Toyota and Honda have all said they would be making hybrids in Thailand but I don't know if any of them are doing it yet, let alone whether they are for the domestic market.

Like I said,
Most new Suzuki Swifts (a very nice car IMO) sold in Europe are hybrids, same for Toyota Yaris .And at reasonable prices.
I don't understand why they are not even offered as an option here,

Hybrids are not electric cars, they don't charge from the grid, only by the built in engine. They are slightly more efficient than other ICE cars. Plug in hybrids are to some extent electric, they can be charged from the grid, but are much more expensive.

Toyota makes hybrids for the models Vios, a compact, Cross their new SUV for here based on a Corolla chassis, C-HR a "sporty" model , and the Camry

The wife drives a Nissan X Trail that is a hybrid as well.

Originally Posted by David48atTD

Biden wants to build a national EV charging system under $2 trillion infrastructure plan, but it won’t be easy


Key Points

• Charging stations for electric vehicles will be part of a $2 trillion infrastructure bill being pushed by the Biden administration.
• It’s going to take more than government support to successfully expand EV infrastructure.
• AlixPartners estimates $300 billion will be needed to build out a global charging network to accommodate the expected growth of EVs by 2030, including $50 billion in the U.S. alone.

U.S. EV charging system a priority under Biden'''s $2 trillion infrastructure plan

It is simple, Standardize the plugs at the charging stations , so that all EVs can use all Charging station. Imagine if every ICE car campany had i';s own gas station and nozzles that could only fit cars of that make.

Originally Posted by S Landreth

Electric plane startup Lilium goes public in bid to take commercial flight by 2024

Electric aviation startup Lilium is going public via merger with a special purpose acquisition company as it looks to commercialize a seven-seat vertical takeoff and landing plane (VTOL) for regional travel.

Little more......

Renewable Energy Smashes Records in 2020

Despite the difficulties associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, the world added a record amount of new renewable energy capacity in 2020, according to data released Monday by the International Renewable Energy Agency.

IRENA's annual Renewable Capacity Statistics 2021 shows that global renewable energy capacity grew by more than 260 gigawatts (GW) last year, beating the previous record set in 2019 by nearly 50%. Last year marked the second consecutive year in which clean energy's share of all new generating capacity increased substantially, with renewables accounting for over 80% of all new electricity capacity added in 2020.

Total fossil fuel additions, by contrast, fell by more than 6% last year—from 64 GW worth of new electricity capacity in 2019 to 60 GW in 2020.

"These numbers tell a remarkable story of resilience and hope. Despite the challenges and the uncertainty of 2020, renewable energy emerged as a source of undeniable optimism for a better, more equitable, resilient, clean, and just future," IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera said in a statement.

"The great reset," as La Camera called the coronavirus-driven economic slowdown, "offered a moment of reflection and chance to align our trajectory with the path to inclusive prosperity, and there are signs we are grasping it."

Referring to 2020 as "the start of the decade of renewables," La Camera noted that "costs are falling, clean tech markets are growing, and never before have the benefits of the energy transition been so clear."

Though hydropower—responsible for more than 43% of the world's total renewable energy generation capacity—still constitutes the largest global source of clean energy, other sources are catching up; solar and wind contributed 127 GW and 111 GW of new installations, respectively, together accounting for 91% of the growth in renewables in 2020.

While La Camera described the widespread adoption of renewable energy sources as an "unstoppable" trend, he also emphasized that "there is a huge amount to be done."

Notwithstanding recent momentum in favor of clean energy, La Camera said that in order to limit global temperature rise to 1.5ºC, "significant planned energy investments must be redirected to support the transition if we are to achieve 2050 goals" of net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as outlined last month in IRENA's World Energy Transition Outlook.

La Camera's words of caution about the inadequate pace of the global energy transformation echoes a recent warning by Fatih Bitrol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, who said last week that even though the world's biggest economies have pledged to achieve net zero GHG emissions by mid-century, few have implemented the policies necessary to realize that objective.

Regarding the worldwide expansion of renewable energy capacity in 2020, La Camera stressed that "in this critical decade of action, the international community must look to this trend as a source of inspiration to go further.": Renewable Energy Smashes Records in 2020 - EcoWatch - https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/...F71A0D7A9C0B91 - https://twitter.com/flacamera/status...08959231762436

Strange,………I don’t see nuclear or hydrogen in any of the links above. Wonder why that is?

There may be some scope for small "entrepeneurs" to have a small charging station connected to their home electrical supply, especially if they have solar and grid power.

^Brick wall

Zoning laws in the US. commercial district vs residential district

The best thing the government can do in the short term to increase the number of charging stations is to require standardized charging plugs in all charging statins so that every EV from every manufacturer could use every charging station like they do in the EU. Retrofit all charging stations with a universal plug. Simple!!
Can you imagine if Ford ICE cars could use Ford gas stations? or Chevy, or Toyota etc ?

Solidia closes $78 million funding as carbon removal popularity grows

Solidia Technologies, a firm with tech that absorbs CO2 in the concrete curing process, has raised another $78 million from some heavy-hitting VC players.

Why it matters: The funding is the latest sign of interest — and optimism — around various types of carbon removal technologies.

In addition to curing concrete with CO2 instead of water, New Jersey-based Solidia also uses a lower emissions cement manufacturing process.

The big picture: Cement production is a very large and high emissions industrial sector, accounting for an estimated 7% of global CO2.

That helps explain the interest in cutting those emissions and opportunities for absorbing CO2 in the production process.

Solidia

The production of Solidia Cement and Concrete begins with a patented process for bonding together and hardening a collection of loosely packed particles. Dubbed reactive hydrothermal liquid phase densification (rHLPD), the process uses a liquid solution to 1) penetrate into the pores between the particles, 2) react with the particles, and 3) create “bridges” between the particles to lock them into place. This last step is precisely what happens when OPC reacts with water to bond together the sand and aggregate particles that constitute conventional concrete. rHLPD can work in a wide variety of chemical systems. One system involves a reaction between a water-CO2 solution and a family of calcium-silicate minerals similar in chemistry to OPC. The reaction, which spontaneously occurs at nearambient conditions, creates “bridges” composed of silica and calcium carbonate. These compounds, and the unique bridging structures formed by them, are more stable and intrinsically stronger than the bonds formed in conventional concrete.

Solidia Concrete is defined by both its proprietary curing process and its formulation – a blend of water, coarse and fine aggregate, and Solidia Cement. In addition to reducing the CO2 emitted during its manufacture by 30%, Solidia Cement only reacts with CO2; it does not react with water, as OPC does. During the curing process, CO2 – from waste flue gas – reacts with Solidia Cement to form calcium carbonate. In other words, it is permanently transformed from a gas to a solid that resembles natural limestone. The gas could only be released if it were put into a high temperature kiln.

The clinker of Solidia Cement is produced at a temperature of about 1200OC, which is roughly 250OC lower than the sintering temperature used in Portland cement clinker manufacturing. The resulting process uses 30% less energy and emits 30% less CO2. When the reduced CO2 emissions associated with Solidia Cement production are considered along with the ability of that cement to sequester CO2 during concrete curing, the CO2 footprint associated with the manufacturing and use of cement can be reduced by up to 70%. This reduction is equal to 550 kg of CO2 per tonne of cement. 30 Solidia Concrete blocks will absorb 22 kg ofCO2 at production. In one year, a tree will do the same.

Solidia allows manufacturers to reduce their water consumption by up to 100%. The adoption of these technologies by the global cement and concrete industry could save approximately two billion tons, or two
trillion liters, of water per year. By using Solidia’s patented systems, cement and concrete producers will also see an up to 30% reduction in fuel consumption.

I like the curing time: https://assets.ctfassets.net/jv4d7wc....21.19__5_.pdf

• Joe Biden talks Climate Change and Trains. Starts at 16:30 into the video

• Extra: Deb Haaland Scraps A Slew Of Fossil Fuel-Friendly Trump Orders

Originally Posted by S Landreth

Solidia Technologies, a firm with tech that absorbs CO2 in the concrete curing process, has raised another $78 million from some heavy-hitting VC players.

Excellent, that is a eureka moment.


"It also cures to 28-day strength in 24 hours, which will be really important in the construction industry."

Originally Posted by OhOh

Excellent, that is a eureka moment.


"It also cures to 28-day strength in 24 hours, which will be really important in the construction industry."

That would be a game changer for the high-rise construction industry where on a two day cycle as many as 14 floors have to be re-shored before concrete reaches close to full strength, requiring thousands of legs'. (after pouring a slab , it has to be re-shored for 28 days until concrete cures to almost full strength),
Most concrete companies rent the restore legs from companies such as Doka and Ulma and it is not cheap, In the past , wooden legs were used, but in most municipalities they have been outlawed because of the fire hazard. .

But I am sure such claims of 24 hr full strength, and changes on the re-shore engineering rules would have to be studied, and would take time to be implemented. I am not sure if I would trust a 24 hr cure.

Solidia

I have a 16-year-old Mercedes SUV now, which I don’t need. Maybe time for a change. I was thinking I might try to get on a list (if there is one) for the one below.

Originally Posted by S Landreth

Mercedes unveils luxury electrical vehicle for U.S. market

Mercedes has unveiled its first luxury all-electric sedan, and the EQS is headed for U.S. markets late this year.