• paintbucketholder@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      20
      ·
      1 year ago

      If weight isn’t an issue, then it makes sense to use a system that only costs a fraction of a hydrogen-powered setup.

      Trains don’t need to fly. Just pack them full of batteries or - arguably even better - just electrify the line wherever possible.

      That’s just not an option for planes, so hydrogen remains a potentially viable approach.

    • roguetrick@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      That’s actually because trains can get away with batteries. Batteries aren’t a very dense energy storage and you’d never get a commercial plane to be economical with batteries. Similar to how you can have a coal ship or train, but never a commercial plane. Hydrogen is lighter than hydrocarbons by a lot, but volume wise, hydrogen takes up more space. The cryo tanks and fuel cells are heavy.