Recently, it has attracted more attention due to predictions of the world’s unpreparedness for a pandemic, made even before the COVID-19 crisis. Now he decided to issue a similar warning about climate change: “Earlier this month, I wrote about COVID -19 as another warning to humanity about climate change. There is no doubt that we have experienced terrible suffering and economic hardship over the past few months. But as difficult as it may seem now that we are still in the midst of a pandemic, climate change could be even more devastating. ”

In a new blog post, he highlighted the need for electrifying transport to tackle climate change. However, he did make some interesting comments about which segments will go electric. According to Mr. Gates, cars will indeed become electric, and this is already happening:

“Increased competition in the market means customers have more choices than ever before, from compact sedans to sleek sports cars. Soon you will even be able to buy an all-electric pickup, thanks to companies like GM and Ford, and new car makers like Rivian and Bollinger. “

The Microsoft founder, who previously drove the Model X, chose not to mention Tesla with its Cybertruck among electric pickups. In addition, Bill Gates criticized projects such as the Tesla Semi and electric aircraft, expressing doubts about their feasibility:

“The problem is that the batteries are big and heavy. The more weight you have to move, the more batteries you need to power your vehicle. But the more batteries are used, the more the machine itself weighs, and the more power is needed. Even with a major breakthrough in battery technology, electric vehicles are likely to never be a practical solution for things like 18-wheeled tractors, cargo ships, or passenger aircraft. Electricity is a working option when we need to cover short distances, but we need a different solution for heavy and long haul vehicles. ”

Instead, Gates is proposing biofuels as a potential alternative to batteries for similar vehicle segments. These words were spoken despite the fact that several electric truck programs, such as the Tesla Semi and Freightliner Cascadia, are quite far advanced. And Tesla CEO Elon Musk predicted that electric jets would become viable when batteries reach an energy density of 400 Wh / kg, which many battery manufacturers are currently working on.

How much the founder of Microsoft is right – time will tell. But interestingly, Bill Gates himself is a major investor in Quantumscape, which claims that its technology will create batteries with an energy density of 500 Wh / kg. Such batteries are in theory more than enough for 18-wheeled trucks and even commercial aircraft.