In the conference room, Chen Mengchuan's words gave everyone something to think about.
"The hydrogen on Jupiter may indeed be inexhaustible, but, Chen, hydrogen itself is not an energy resource. Humanity is still far from having mature fusion power technology using deuterium or tritium isotopes, even though the Sun's energy comes from hydrogen fusion reactions," Möbius said. Of everyone present, he had the deepest understanding of nuclear fusion.
"Moreover, the energy required to produce elemental hydrogen through solar energy, electricity, or biological processes is greater than the energy obtained from burning hydrogen. So, Chen, from another perspective, hydrogen is an energy carrier, like a battery. Hydrogen on Earth is usually extracted from fossil fuels such as methane, but those fuels are all non-renewable resources on Earth."
"Liquid nitrogen and compressed hydrogen have far lower energy density per unit volume than conventional fuels, but their energy density per unit mass is higher. On Earth, hydrogen is considered capable of becoming a commonly used energy carrier and a foundation for a new economy. But as solar energy gradually becomes fully adopted on Earth, demand for hydrogen as an energy carrier will instead decrease. The farther we move from Earth, however, the more favorable conditions become for using hydrogen as energy. Fuel cells can convert hydrogen and oxygen into electricity far more efficiently than ordinary internal combustion engines," Möbius said with a nod.
Chen Mengchuan smiled. "Although Jupiter is considered a gaseous planet, I believe it must contain hydrogen in all kinds of forms: gaseous hydrogen, liquid hydrogen, hydrogen at its triple point, solid hydrogen, and perhaps even naturally occurring metallic hydrogen. But our exploration target is not just Jupiter. There are also the more distant Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto."
"What an exciting journey. Your words have already made me impatient to