Now this could be big news ....

[TMB]

Audi engineers have successfully made diesel fuel from carbon dioxide and water - ScienceAlert

[joosttx]

Wow it would sure turn the table for carbon credits.

[Corso]

And the first bill demanding a tax on water begins in 5, 4, 3….

[SteveP]

April 1st?

[Mabouya]

I didn't know that Fleischmann and Pons were working for Audi.

[Mark Kelly]

There's no technological breakthrough here, they have basically taken three very well established bits of tech and combined them: making hydrogen by electrolysis and making carbon monoxide by electrochemical reduction have both been known since the early 19th century; the mixture of the two is so common it has a nickname: "syngas", named for the fact that it's the raw ingredient for synthesis of many many organic chemicals. Here it's being used to synthesise a medium chain hydrocarbon.

It's worth pointing out that the net energy yield is likely to be fairly poor: if they capture 10% of the incoming energy I'd be very surprised. It's also worth noting that the pilot plant is slated to produce 160 litres per day, which probably just about covers the fuel use of Volkswagen AG's board of directors. Nice bit of publicity though.

That's not to say it's not a good idea: if the cost can be brought under control it could be another way to add storage and mobility to renewables like photovoltaic.

[monadnocky]

I didn't know that Fleischmann and Pons were working for Audi.

So many lessons in that story. Really, would be a fantastic movie. I can still recall my exuberant father (who, due to his stint in the Navy, knew a lot about nuclear power and, ahem, other uses of nuclear energy) exuberantly telling me that the world's energy problem was solved. I still have that Time magazine cover imprinted on my mind.