For right now I don't think it would replace heavy commercial equipment, such as those that use diesels. However, we do have an option for that, and it's bio-diesel. It can be made from almost any kind of plant oils, and doesn't have the drawback of other ICE synthetic fuels, in that there is really no loss of power because the fuel doesn't contain as much energy (e.g. ethanol).kr@cker wrote:
there are so many millions of combustion engines out there it would take decades for any meaningful replacement to come to fruition, how would you go about refitting older vehicles? How does it's versatility compare to the ICE? For once someone finally addressed the range and horsepower issue (something most powercell proponents leave out do to there being a significant lack of each), but what about the high torque capacity of ICE's and diesels? Can you make one of these that can move a house without costing as much as one? For the immediate future, exploration and alternative fuels are the way to go, as the internal combustion engine is what makes the world go round. Even here at Robins the Air Force is hitting the synthetic experimentation rather heavily, with pleasing and cleaner results. You can watch two C-9's take off and tell which one uses JP-8 and which one uses synthetics as the JP-8 will leave a barely visible smoke trail, and the synthetic won't. This ceramic cell may eventually be the future, but it will be decades at best before it replaces conventional engines, whether ICE, diesel, or turbine.
As for retrofitting older vehicles, you never know. That could become a whole new industry, or simply add to existing industries that already offer similar services.
You're right that it won't be an overnight fix, but it is a good place to start. The advantage over other fuels, such as ethanol, propane, or natural gas powered vehicles, is that there is no infrastructure problems. Power is everywhere, and you wouldn't be limited to just being able to charge up a some type of fueling station.