“Let’s Take A Tesla And F&*^ It Up!” —German Government

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Is Germany okay? We are really concerned. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research shared that there is a new type of Tesla out there — a hybrid prototype that can be powered by methanol. Yes, for real.

What’s worse is that they don’t even tell us that this is a Tesla. They presented the car as if it were a new type of car. In reality, they messed up a Tesla, threw in an engine, and said, “Hey, look! New! Shiny!”

The prototype, a converted Model Y that now burns methanol to create electricity, was presented by Federal Research Minister Anja Karliczek. According to the press release, the fuel is based on green hydrogen, which is claimed to be “one of the most important basic building blocks for the climate-friendly conversion of key industries in Germany and around the world,” as well as CO2, “which can be extracted from industrial exhaust gases” (no mention of the fact that this is a very expensive process and energy intensive in its own right).

https://twitter.com/flcnhvy/status/1440961754616451072

While presenting the car, Karliczek said:

“Climate protection can only be achieved with green hydrogen. That is why we are already massively supporting research into the use of green hydrogen, although efforts will have to be increased again in the next few years. In industry and transport, in particular, we will continue to need chemical energy sources in the future. And: not all industrial processes can be completely decarbonized. There will continue to be CO2.

“We need solutions for this. Today we are building a very interesting bridge between these two points: The use of methanol from ‘recycled’ CO2 from industry as a fuel in road traffic. My house is making an additional 10 million euros available for research into this value chain.

“But the methanol car itself is also an ‘innovation showcase’ for low-emission, resource- and energy-efficient mobility of tomorrow. Synthetic fuels play an important role in making a sustainable, climate-friendly mobility system possible worldwide. This is important in shipping and air traffic or wherever a charging station for the electric car may not always be available in the future. This is where the serial hybrid drive can be a good solution in the long term.”

Prof. Robert Schlögl, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion and Carbon2Chem, coordinated the project. He said,

“The urgency of climate protection requires rapid and comprehensive entry into regenerative energy. In a global market for renewable energy, carbonaceous energy sources such as methanol are central building blocks. The presented concept of the serial hybrid drive combines the advantages of the efficient electric drive and the energy-dense and easily accessible synthetic fuel methanol. This concept needs to be further optimized through the research project presented here. “

Frank Wolf, CEO of the OBRIST Group, said:

“Our HyperHybrid powertrain, whose zero-vibration generator uses green methanol to generate electricity, is an essential innovation for globally applicable, affordable, and emission-neutral e-mobility — a car with green, liquid electricity in the tank! “

They took a perfectly fine Tesla, which is an electric vehicle that burns nothing, and made it into something that burns methanol, and then they said it’s climate-friendly and named it HyperHybrid! Have they lost their minds?

It reminds me of the popular saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

What’s next? We’re going to take a Ford truck, remove the engine, and hook it up to a horse?!

Related stories:

Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) And Hydrogen Paradises Are Fossil Fuel Delay Tactics

Chemical Engineer Paul Martin Reflects On Liebreich’s Hydrogen Ladder & #Hopium — Part 1

CleanTech Talk: Chemical Engineer Paul Martin Discusses Where Hydrogen Will Be Useful — Part 2

Hydrogen Demand: Hydrogen Is Not A Growth Market, It’s A Diminishing One (Part 1 Of 3)

Green Hydrogen Needs To Actually Be Green — It Ain’t Easy Being Green


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Johnna Crider

Johnna owns less than one share of $TSLA currently and supports Tesla's mission. She also gardens, collects interesting minerals and can be found on TikTok

Johnna Crider has 1996 posts and counting. See all posts by Johnna Crider