How likely do you think it is that there will be a better alternative than WindFuels for transportation in the next four decades?
On a scale of 0 to 10, about 0 in the US. In countries where neither good wind nor wave resources are available, the best option may be dry reforming – if both methane and excellent solar resources are available. This is a process in which high-temperature concentrated solar power (above 1100 K) can be used to make liquid fuels from a combination of methane and CO2. There are lots of challenges with this process, and we don’t see it being competitive unless oil is above $200/bbl for many years. Moreover, the carbon in the fuels it produces will probably be only about 30% from the waste CO2. The rest will be from the fossil methane.
