DChemTech wrote: ↑08 Sep 2021, 09:02
There are several countries that have legislation stating "only electric".
For the record, I am conceptually opposed to that because there are alternatives (yes, these include synfuel), and the challenge is picking the right option for the right niche. In a fully fair and rational market that should boil down to "picking the most economical option" (throwing away 85% energy when there is a more efficient alternatives for road cars would be economically prohibitive, and so would dragging tons of batteries into the air be).
But the market is not perfect; politics, emotions, and a lack of accountability for externalities come into play, anf there are infrastructure considerations that may make focus on a limited set of options desirable. Hence, in some cases a top-down decision to focus on a single tech may be the most pragmatic option.
Synfuel is more like a subset, than an alternative. Burning the hard produced fuel in 20-40% engines is not reasonable compared to a 70-90% fuel cell.
Tommy Cookers wrote: ↑08 Sep 2021, 09:35
most countries won't replace all fossil-fuel electricity with nominally carbon-free electricity by eg '2030-40'
or the forseeable
until then using such electricity to de-fossilise cars just means using more fossil fuel somewhere else
"Somewhere else" is already a lot better than "straight into the air you breathe". Not just for health and environmental (filtering) reasons but also powerplants are a lot more efficient than cars.
Tommy Cookers wrote: ↑08 Sep 2021, 17:09
so - is EV use better than heating by heat pumps as a means of reducing said emissions ?
Why on earth wouldn't you do both if you can. If you can save at one place doesn't mean you shouldn't elsewhere. It's the opposite, you shouldn't waste anywhere.
Tommy Cookers wrote: ↑08 Sep 2021, 17:09
if not then the FE and EV thing may be counterproductive
heating being a much bigger energy user than is road transport ... and in competition for electricity
There's no competition. You produce as much electricity as you need.
But heating with electricity never made much sense, and there's no reason to start now.
Best way is to plainly insulate houses so they don't require heating ("passive house" standards and such). Instead or in parallel to that you can use solar thermal panels for heating. If you don't have those either than the fuel is best used to drive a heat pump as well as using it's heat for heating. ("waste" heat in case of fuel+fuel cell+heat pump)