Fusion at the petrol pump

I read today at reference 1 that one answer to the energy crisis is to recognise that gasoline is a good fuel which is not going to go away - and just to make the stuff yourself rather than waiting for the sun, photosynthesis and geology to do it for you. Just mix up air and water in a cunning way and out pops petrol. 

It seems that the chemistry is not nonsense, and plenty of people out there are working on it. The problems are, first, the cost of the electricity needed to drive the process; and; second, scaling the process up from the laboratory.

Prometheus Fuels has managed to raise $1.5 billion on the basis of what many believe to be extravagant promises. There is an entertaining website at reference 2. And the founder started his professional life in the theatre.

While Carbon Engineering is coming at this from carbon capture, the need to drive down the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, with petrol being more by way of a by-product. A quick look at reference 4 suggests that they have been at it for rather longer than the people at Prometheus. No idea where their funding is coming from.

Perhaps investment bankers really do earn their extravagant salaries when they have to decide whether people like this are worth a punt.

References

Reference 1: This $1.5 billion startup promised to deliver clean fuels as cheap as gas. Experts are deeply skeptical: Prometheus Fuels has struck deals to deliver millions of gallons of carbon-neutral fuel. But it’s years behind schedule, and some doubt it can ever achieve its claims - James Temple, MIT Technology Review - 2022.

Reference 2: https://prometheusfuels.com/.

Reference 3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol.

Reference 4: https://carbonengineering.com/.