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I was thinking about vehicles that can't switch to electric power. The tech's not there yet, and may never be.

Cargo ships. Jumbo jets. Military aircraft. Specialized industrial vehicles, such as those used for mines.

Unless these use cases are made obsolete (possible, such as military) society will depend on fossil fuels for many decades to come.




Lots of mine & industrial vehicles are electrified. In underground mining it's attractive because the vehicle is in a very confined space (easy to run cables to) and it's doubly attractive because of the emissions issue (venting underground). It can make sense for above ground too. But for aircraft and ships you're likely correct.


I was thinking more of the giant open-pit mining excavators and trucks. However, I see that people are attempting to bring EVs to this market:

The mining industry is in a full swing transition towards a low environmental impact mode of operation, and its key players are working to phase out diesel vehicles, which are responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions and generate high operating costs. Currently, there are no electric-powered heavy-duty trucks on the market that meet the difficult operational and climate needs of open-pit mines. Faced with the industry’s new needs, IVI, Propulsion and the NRC brought together select partners to make the first-ever electric heavy-duty vehicle for the mining sector.

To ensure the success of this major project, Fournier et Fils, a recognized operator in the mining sector, will provide the project with a Western Star 6900XD truck with a 40-ton loading capacity, as well as its technical experts, who will assist the electrification experts in converting the truck to accommodate the new components. The motorization aspects will be developed by Dana TM4, a world leader in electric motors.

https://www.danatm4.com/news-events/a-first-for-canadas-open...



Trucking fuel into remote sites is tedious, expensive and risky.


These guys seem to have a niche: hauling logs off of mountains. Regenerative braking on the way down when heavy; using a Diesel engine as a generator in the truck's engine bay. https://www.edisonmotors.ca/trucks


> Specialized industrial vehicles, such as those used for mines.

A lot of industrial vehicles that need high torque at low speed are effectively turbodiesel generators driving eletric motors already.

Replacing such a setup with a battery is a lot easier that a full blown ICE vehicle.


> such as those used for mines

Like the ones that generate more power than they use?


Not fossil fuels, but rather hydrocarbon fuels. You can technically synthesize fuel for those use cases in a carbon-neutral manner.




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