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CharlieDigitalyesterday at 6:03 PM1 replyview on HN

Your example is from a high-value engine where the switch to proprietary alloys has significant savings in a jet engine.

ICE for cars? Do you think the same constraints apply?


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sofixayesterday at 6:12 PM

No, but I think if material science improvements can be made in jet engines, there is no reason to think combustion engines for car are "complete" and nothing around them could be improved. They're much less expensive, but at a much larger volume, and they have at least a few decades of future - even if we assume all of the developed world moves to EVs in the next decade or so, which is unrealistic already, there is all of the rest of the world. Most African countries don't have stable power for all of their populations, EVs are simply not going to work there as the main vehicle type. Then add in trucks, where the weight of the batteries makes them impractical for heavy duty long distance trucking. There are improvements, but it will still be many years before they are available, and decades before they've replaced everything already existing.

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