Doomberg makes some interesting observations about what would happen if electricity were free:
- Efficiency of transmission or utilization wouldn’t matter
- We would use a lot more of it
- It would kill EVs
All of those strike me as right even if counter-intuitive. Free electricity would kill EVs because it would make what has been called the “hydrogen economy” possible. Vehicles would be powered by hydrogen which would be enormously easier than changing to EVs. Using present technology trucks, cargo ships, and aircraft call all be powered by hydrogen using present technology. What impedes its adoption is the expense of releasing the hydrogen.
Free electricity would also make life easier in places where it is now quite difficult.
I like beer to be free too….
It is a good exercise but remember, the laws of thermodynamics say useable energy (and by extension electricity) is never free.
In theory energy could be a lot cheaper (nuclear fusion, maybe nuclear fission), but we haven’t mastered those yet.
I have not looked into it very much, but except for fuel cells, I do not think hydrogen will work. If I recall correctly, the cost to retrofit a combustion engine to use hydrogen is enormous, and because the molecules are much smaller than natural gas, the existing pipelines would leak.
Fuel cells would work, but you would still need electric vehicles. They can use natural gas, but it is less efficient. You could also install them in houses.
This is interesting: Could The World Run On Nitrogen?
It would still require fuel cells, but the “no energy inputs” is misleading at best. Energy would be required, just not during the actual process.