Do We Really Need Electric Cars?

this video is brought to you by brilliant not all of us are on board with the transition to electric vehicles renewable energy options promise to help with the pressure of the pump and climate change but so far no one method whether that solar hydro wind or alternative fuel have managed to knock oil from its pedestal yet electric cars are off to a strong start when it comes to getting renewable energy out on the road but not everybody's sold on it yet which is why electric cars are facing a familiar-looking contender synthetic fuel companies like porsche and bmw are investing a lot of money into it with synthetic fuels it might be possible to make your existing gasoline car carbon neutral but will it actually work and for the undecided community out there stay tuned until the end because i have a little bit of an announcement i'm matt farrell welcome to undecided [Music] the battle for the future of our roads isn't over which is why there's still a lot of interest in synthetic fuels these are also known as syn fuel or in some circles e-fuels and are carbon neutral fuel alternatives engineered for combustion engines you might be asking yourself isn't burning stuff bad for the environment well not completely fossil fuels take sequestered carbon from the earth in the form of hydrocarbons through crude oil combust it and then release that co2 into the atmosphere ultimately increasing the amount of co2 above ground synthetic fuels on the other hand take a different approach they take the co2 already in the atmosphere and combine that with hydrogen to make a usable fuel this fuel is combusted like fossil fuels but unlike fossil fuels synthetic fuels simply return that co2 back into the atmosphere for a net zero carbon footprint how do these synthetic fuels borrow atmospheric carbon well as it turns out we're still discovering the best way to do this biofuels use the time-tested fruits of photosynthesis to access that sweet sweet carbon now those fuels are produced from crops like soybeans sugarcane algae corn and even some forms of grass the appeal behind this synthetic fuel isn't hard to see there's literally tons of biomass on the earth and not all of its food-grade material this natural fuel is already partially in circulation and you can find ones that are ethanol-based which are primarily produced from corn here in the u.s e-fuels on the other hand are more of what people think of when you say synthetic fuels these fuels are the epitome of if you don't have carbon laying around store-bought's fine these fuels bypass photosynthesis altogether instead opting for lab-made fuels via electrolysis methanol the fissure trops process and even the excretions of certain microorganisms the fundamentals stay the same you take co2 out of the atmosphere combine it with hydrogen zap with your favorite chemical magic and tada that carbon and hydrogen turns into synthetic ethanol and water otherwise known as synthetic diesel both of these types of synthetic fuels offer the same outcome a carbon neutral energy source that doesn't demand the same industry overhaul that electric cars require but if this tech is so great and still lets us keep the status quo minus the environmental killing emissions then why haven't synthetic fuels taken over yet and our synthetic fuels are really a threat to the electric car industry which is off to a really strong lead to answer that we have to see how synthetic fuels and evs stack up in real life let's take a look at how these two technologies compare on the three biggest fronts efficiency costs and environmental impact all renewable energy sources come with a limiting factor like the impact of season changes and mass storage for solar power synthetic fuels are no different but for them their achilles heel tends to be their efficiency when it comes to energy we're mainly worried about three things energy density or how much energy is available energy transfer how quickly the energy can get from point a to point b and energy efficiency of how much of that initial energy remains from the source to the end point if we translate that we're essentially asking three questions in regards of using synthetic fuel or evs how much energy can we pack into our vehicle to avoid unnecessary and inconvenient pit stops to recharge or refuel how many steps does that energy have to go through to get from the engine to the wheels and how much of that energy remains when it gets to the wheels in other words how much is lost during the conversion process in terms of energy density synthetic fuels have shown some awesome potential figuratively and literally on the bi-fuel side ethanol and biodiesel average about 26 to 38 megajoules per kilogram which isn't too far off from current fossil fuels at 45 to 55 megajoules per kilogram electrofuels seem to hold their own as well at around 32 megajoules per kilogram but lithium-ion batteries on the other hand fall just a little bit short in this area at around 2.5 megajoules ouch now keep in mind that this is only one consideration of energy efficiency so what does that mean for us when we get behind the wheel in short synthetic fuel is actually pretty great for energy storage if you have a larger vehicle that need to store a lot of energy at once in a relatively condensed space like planes and shipping freighters then synthetic fuels are a really good match we've already seen the maritime industry take on synthetic fuels as companies like the shipping giant maersk begin to incorporate methanol-fueled vessels i actually touched on this in a recent video this is why biofuel is mainly geared towards biodiesel not biogasoline the next consideration is to remember that we eventually want that energy to get out of storage and into action this is unfortunately where we start to see synthetic fuels fall behind battery powered electric vehicles have an advantage here when it comes to energy transfer because at the end of the day the energy process is simpler relatively at least the ev energy transfer process has three main steps the energy is generated at the source transmitted to the battery and then transmitted to the motor it's done oversimplified but that's basically it synthetic fuels on the other hand have a few more processing steps along the way the energy has to go through electrolysis and carbon capture undergo the power to lipid process essentially stabilizing the product for transport and then must travel from the fuel tank to the engine and then so that the fuel has navigate more moving parts in the engine for that energy to be useful the result transferring energy via synthetic fuel takes more steps and with each step the efficiency drops in particular biofuel has an energy efficiency problem you need just over 7000 kilocalories worth of biomass to create one liter of ethanol but that end product only contains 5130 kilocalories the process itself is energy negative unfortunately photosynthesis is a generally inefficient way to turn sunlight into energy at least for our uses on the other hand battery-powered vehicles boast an energy efficiency rating of around 69 meaning that 69 of the energy survives the process from storage to the wheels synthetic fuels well you're looking at an energy efficiency rating of a just 13 that means the best synthetic fuel takes two times the energy to move a combustion engine vehicle the same distance as the worst ev evs simply travel further on the same amount of energy so let's talk about one of the biggest hurdles when it comes to synthetic fuels the cost biofuel in particular has a turbulent economic landscape oil prices as we've seen lately can be a little unstable when oil prices drop they drag the profit margin of biofuels down with it combine that with the rising cost of corn and you're looking at a measly one dollar profit per ton produced the corn and soybean industries are heavily subsidized by the government some cynics even see the ethanol-based fuel industry as a way to provide jobs that otherwise may not exist synthetic fuels are in a similar tight spot today it's hard to find a supplier who can produce enough large quantities to make the difference in the market at 94 to 232 dollars per ton of co2 synthetic fuels are just plain expensive to produce in terms of upfront costs it can take millions of dollars to start up a synthetic fuel plant and production itself offers razor thin profit margins that make restaurants look like a lucrative business venture with the low profit and high up front costs synthetic fuel producers can find it hard to entice weary private investors which makes it hard to raise the capital they need to get going because of this synthetic fuels work best economically in areas with tighter emission regulations and government subsidies so far we've only discussed the production costs so what about the actual cost to all of us the consumer well unfortunately synthetic fuels don't do much better you may shudder at the thought of the current prices at the pump but in comparison synthetic fuels can cost an equivalent of ten dollars to 38 dollars per gallon which is about two dollars and sixty four cents to ten dollars per liter ouch at those crazy prices who in the world would still be gunning for synthetic fuels well it's generally more popular in social circles where those costs are a drop in the bucket performance in premium car companies like porsche bmw and formula one are all on the front lines incorporating carbon neutral sources like synthetic fuels for those buyers the price tag of synthetic fuel may not be a deal breaker for the everyday driver however that's quite the sting to the wall switching away from fossil fuels will require changing our infrastructure so how would things look different in a world based on synthetic fuels versus a world running on electric cars surprisingly a world running on synthetic fuels may not look that much different than the one we have right now that's because e-fuels can be distributed with our existing infrastructure like the 115 000 gas stations in use today here in the us on a more personal level we could potentially use our old car models as well no need to go out and buy a brand new electric car it's obviously a huge advantage for those who drive classic and fidgets cars making the switch to synthetic fuels could be relatively easy logistically and culturally even climate change naysayers may be less resistant to switch to synthetic fuels if they can keep their old car and semblance of their old lifestyle unlike electric cars vehicles that run on synthetic fuel can still be noisy which depending on who you are that could be a plus some performance car makers like porsche have already adopted some synthetic fuel models to highlight the tech but of course nostalgia doesn't make up for some of the synthetic fuel's blatant downsides remember that 38 per gallon price tag well synthetic fuels are still expensive inefficient and for some just a last gasp effort for oil companies to stay relevant they also still face distribution limits including the recent supreme court decision to retain limits on the sale of biofuels like e15 on the other hand electric cars and by extension their charging stations are already being integrated into our infrastructure and they show no signs of stopping just the opposite it's actually accelerating last but certainly not least we need to see how synthetic fuels live up to their carbon negative promise are synthetic fuels a formidable alternative fossil fuels maybe both synthetic fuels and evs should in theory have zero lifetime co2 emissions or at least near zero in reality though this depends on how they're manufactured right now electric vehicles require those pesky lithium-ion batteries which require the painstaking excavation of precious minerals and a whole lot of electricity neither of which are always obtained from clean sources the result those lithium batteries can contribute around 25 percent of the electric car's lifetime co2 emissions you also need to consider where the electricity itself comes from electricity from coal still results in emissions even if the vehicle itself is emission free but it is still cleaner than running a car and gasoline the source of that electricity is what ultimately matters and whether the production is green or not which is why producing an ev car can produce around 20 tons of co2 before it's even driven off the lot however for evs that it's slowly changing as our electricity production gets cleaner synthetic fuels run into similar predicaments like considering the emissions that come from shipping the fuel and tankers or the refineries required to make the fuel usable biofuels have their own environmental impacts to consider over 90 million acres of farmland in the u.s is used for corn and around 40 of that is used for ethanol that supplements around 10 percent of the gas used by u.s consumers today in the last decade those croplands expanded by 1 million acres per year for corn primarily edging out natural habitats in the process corn is also hard on the soil pulling many nutrients from it this means farmland has to have nutrients supplemented or crops rotated to keep the land productive using biomass for fuel also comes with other environmental concerns including insecticides loss of biodiversity potential food insecurity and excessive water usage to produce one gallon of ethanol from corn grain can take about two to nine gallons of water depending on the method used to convert the grain keep in mind that the average biofuel plant is looking to produce millions of gallons of fuel each year biofuels are ultimately a zero-sum game the land crops and water used for biofuels can't be used for food some producers have tried to mitigate this by switching the biomass source for example sugarcane biofuel is actually an energy positive process but it can also lead to deforestation in the amazon as it's still cheaper to import it from there than to grow domestically other sources like algae offer promising results but they're still energy-intensive and expensive which negates their current environmental benefits could synthetic fuels be produced in environmentally safe way absolutely would this be the cheapest option at this point it doesn't seem like it this is why i spend so much time in my videos discussing costs manufacturers and all of us are more likely to flock to the low cost options especially in an economically strained industry ultimately if there's a higher cost the manufacturer will pass it on to us the consumers if you can get one fuel cheaper than another which would you choose steno fuels are a promising front in many ways but they're not going to dethrone electric vehicles anytime soon if ever synthetic fuels will not be the magic bullet that some environmentalists wanted or what the industry craves synthetic fuels could be helpful to transition naysayers who are still attached to their combustion engines including oil companies and they could ease the transition away from fossil fuels for large form transportation like ships and planes where batteries just aren't an option yet for now and for the foreseeable future evs are still the strongest contenders for everyday passenger vehicles still we need to be aware of all the behind the scenes emissions and environmental impact that these technologies pose including the high potential for greenwashing in the wrong hands at the end of the day this all comes down to energy and how we harness it and use it if you want to get better understanding of the science behind that so you can make more informed decisions for yourself i'd strongly recommend checking out brilliant brilliant has helped me to fill in the gaps of my knowledge and make sure i have my head wrapped around the fundamentals of the topics like today's video including potential energy conservation of energy and all the complexities around it they have hands-on interactive courses and topics that range from solar energy to classical mechanics and computer science to quantum computing they've got something for everybody the science essentials course is great for refreshing your knowledge on core concepts like potential energy drag and force all of the concepts are taught through fun interactive challenges to help you understand the why of something not just the how it helps to develop your intuition which is my absolute favorite part about brilliant go to brilliant.org undecided to sign up for free and also the first 200 people will get 20 off their annual premium membership thanks to brilliant and to all of you for supporting the channel do you think synthetic fuels will catch on jump in the comments and let me know or if you have knowledge on this or work in the industry please share your experience so we can all learn together this video isn't meant to be the definitive answer on synthetic fuels but a starting point to jump in and learn more i know i still am now for that undecided community announcement i'm opening up a portion of my discord server for anyone that wants to join to talk to other members of the community and up until now it's been close to patrons but i'm opening it up to a few select channels on the discord server like smart homes sustainable tech tesla and evs and a couple of others i'd love to build out a fun and safe place for all of us to share and keep learning together the link is in the description and i hope to see you there and thanks as always to all my patrons all of your direct support really does help producing these videos and to reduce my dependence on the almighty youtube algorithm speaking of which if you like this video be sure to check out one of the ones i've linked to right here and subscribe and hit that notification bell if you think i've earned it thanks so much for watching i'll see you in the next one

Channel: Undecided with Matt Ferrell

Views: 536,109

Keywords: best ev 2022, biofuel, biofuel car, biofuels, biofuels vs electric, bmw, electric car review, electric cars, electric vehicles, evs, porsche, should i buy an electric car, synthetic fuel, synthetic fuel for cars, synthetic fuel vs electric, tesla, tesla model 3

Id: PJT2xbKMH4U

Length: 15min 31sec (931 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 15 2022