You can’t get something for nothing, and if it seems too good to be true, it usually is. However, the Aircela machine seems to be an exception to these rules, with its ability to create gasoline using little more than electricity and the air that we breathe. It sounds like the science fiction of a “Star Trek” replicator, but the process is rooted in science facts. While it’s not quite the free energy it sounds like at first, the technology in its current state has some practical, small-scale applications, which are exactly what Aircela is targeting.
The Aircela machine works through a three-step process. It captures carbon dioxide directly from the air. While this process doesn’t nearly offset how much carbon cars spew into the air, it is a sound process that works, though usually on a much larger scale than Aircela’s. The machine also traps water vapor, and uses electrolysis to break water down into hydrogen and oxygen instead of destroying your car’s cooling system. The oxygen is released, leaving hydrogen and carbon dioxide, the building blocks of hydrocarbons.
This mixture then undergoes a process known as direct hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to methanol, as documented in scientific papers. Methanol is a useful, though dangerous, racing fuel, but the engine under your hood won’t run on it, so it must be converted to gasoline. ExxonMobil has been studying the process of doing exactly that since at least the 1970s. It’s another well-established process, and the final step the Aircela machine performs before dispensing it through a built-in ordinary gas pump. So while creating gasoline out of thin air sounds like something only a wizard alchemist in Dungeons & Dragons can do, each step of this process is grounded in science, and combining the steps in this manner means it can, and does, really work.
What’s the catch?
Aircela does not, however, promise free gasoline for all. There are some limitations to this process. A machine the size of Aircela’s produces just one gallon of gas per day. That’s not going to keep your nine-MPG Bugatti Chiron Super Sport going for very long, or even your 43-MPG Honda CRX HF. The machine can store up to 17 gallons, according to Popular Science, so if you don’t drive very much, you can fill up your tank, eventually. It could probably keep my little Kawasaki Z125 going for quite a while, though.
While the Aircela website does not list a price for the machine, The Autopian reports it’s targeting a price between $15,000 and $20,000, with hopes of dropping the price once mass production begins. While certainly less expensive than a traditional gas station, it’s still a bit of an investment to begin producing your own fuel. If you live or work out in the middle of nowhere, however, it could be close to or less than the cost of bringing gas to you, or driving all your vehicles into a distant town to fill up. You’re also not limited to buying just one machine, as the system is designed to scale up to produce as much fuel as you need.
The main reason why this process isn’t “something for nothing” is that it takes twice as much electrical energy to produce energy in the form of gasoline. As Aircela told The Autopian:
Aircela is targeting >50% end to end power efficiency. Since there is about 37kWh of energy in a gallon of gasoline we will require about 75kWh to make it. When we power our machines with standalone, off-grid, photovoltaic panels this will correspond to less than $1.50/gallon in energy cost.
Sustainable energy is the key to making the Aircela machine practical and cost-effective. Running it on the grid from coal or natural gas power plants defeats the purpose of removing carbon from the air, and the electricity will cost more, too. However, investing in both the machines and the solar panels to power them means that the product will cost no more than that initial investment. This could work well in remote desert areas, with plenty of sun and cheap land to set up an extensive solar array.
Even though the entire process is firmly rooted in reality, making gasoline from electricity and air still sounds like science fiction. As Arthur C. Clarke wrote, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” So if you want to dress up as a wizard while making your own fuel, go right ahead.
