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Producing fuels from 1,500 degrees of solar heat: world’s first plant opens in Germany
(www.thechemicalengineer.com)
everything about energy production
Super cool. Chemical fuels (hydrocarbons or even plant oils) have ridiculous energy density, which is nice for e.g. cars but absolutely crucial for fast, long-range air travel. I don't think we'll be saying goodbye to jet engines for a long time, and it's awesome that we have ways of making fuel in a somewhat sustainable fashion.
The US Navy has experimented with this, but I think the idea is to use nuclear power instead of solar energy. Makes sense for an aircraft carrier with a big reactor and thirsty jets.