@trobex you have a really good point about how far away viability is for some of the fuel cell tech. I was thinking about that myself; what I find fascinating is how many parallel streams of work are going on to find viable alternatives to fossil fuels. I'm not wanting to start a political debate on the merits of that reasoning as I know that's quite polarizing, but the undeniable fact is we've got companies from many industries pouring billions of dollars into R&D into alternatives to ICE. Basically every major manufacturer is exploring BEVs, Hyundai and Ineos are going full steam ahead on hydrogen, and even in other industries battery technology for smart phones to make 'em last longer are constantly being improved and explored. On the heavy industry side, Volvo and Cat are looking at powerplant options for heavy equipment, and building codes are requiring all kinds of things that change how we collect, store, and use energy. Any one area might see a major discovery towards viability or commercialization, and it could happen at any time.
And then we get into the real Star-Trek-Made-Real stuff like
Molten Salt Nuclear Reactors, impressive
breakthroughs with Low Energy Nuclear Reactions -- these could also see major breakthroughs in the near future towards viability, and this too would have a profound impact on how we use energy.
And then if we want to get really crazy -- as if cold fusion wasn't crazy enough already -- apparently there's things flying around that can go from the water, to the sky, to space, have no visible control surfaces, and no visible means of propulsion, and are seen by Air Force Pilots, confirmed on RADAR and other technology, and have been reporting flying over nuclear installations in America and rendering them inoperable. (Yes,
I'm referring to UFOs, and no, I'm not crazy; the
US Government has changed their tune in the
last few years and now 100% confirms that
UFOs are not just swamp gas or crazy people seeing things like they used to claim -- these are real, physical objects that are flying around and as-yet do not have an explanation.) It doesn't matter to me whether these are aliens or some secret black-site Skunkworks thing from a letter agency...how do they fly around like that? What kind of technology is producing and storing the energy? How amazing will that tech be in my 4x4 touring vehicle, and when can I get it???
I know a lot of people scoff at the idea of phasing out ICE by 2035, as so many governments have legislated; I agree with them that gas and diesel cars are going to be around for a long time after that. But most folks don't think ICE is going away because they believe that there are inadequacies in the way electric cars can be used; my take is not only is electric perfectly adequate as of today for the vast majority of people, but in addition, given the amount of resources being poured into so many different technologies that help humans use and store energy for locomotion, I think its reasonable that by 2035 we are going to have other choices beyond "Gas or electric?" (or at least, the type of gas and source of electricity will likely be significantly different than it is today). So in short - I am being very positive too!
(And I secretly hope it's friendly Aliens).
