On account of the Ode to Solar Panels article I recently wrote, I've been thinking about other, less-explored avenues of alternative energy research. Unfortunately, like any bleeding edge topic, alt energy attracts a lot of wackadoos and charlatans.
Perhaps you have seen them on Youtube shilling their permanent free energy magnetic motors. You may also have seen them claim that a water powered car was invented in the 1970s, but the government killed the inventor. Totally false, read about that here.
But as a matter of academic interest, the more modern water powered car scams sometimes utilize an approach that's almost kinda halfway workable, though still not actually "water powered". One of the most recent was a Japanese company called genepax demonstrating a Reva G-Wiz fitted with a magnesium fuel cell in the trunk.
A magnesium fuel cell exploits galvanic principles. It facilitates a chemical reaction between the magnesium cathode, the salt water it's flooded with, and the graphite anode. The real "fuel" isn't the sea water, it just appears to be consumed during operation of the fuel cell due to evaporation.
The fuel is the magnesium. Plates of it are consumed gradually as ions are stripped from them and bond to the graphite. The downside is that this reaction isn't reversible. You cannot recharge it. The magnesium plates are destroyed in the process on a molecular level, and must be replaced.
The upside is that some forms of this arrangement (like aluminum air) are extraordinarily energy dense. Phinergy makes single-use aluminum air range extenders for electric cars that will take them 1,000 miles.
Elon Musk was even considering this technology for a future revision of the Model S, reportedly. It would work as a range extender rather than the main power source of the car. You'd "dip into it" only in emergencies when the main (lithium) battery comes up short. Thus, the 1,000 miles worth of energy wouldn't be used up except over many years.
Then you'd call them to take it away for recycling and get fresh aluminum plates put in. Aluminum is cheap and easy to recycle, so obtaining new plates could be as easy as calling the nearest machine shop. A promising technology, on it's own merits.
So why is it often abused by hucksters to solicit investment money? Because if you don't know how it really works, it looks like it's turning salt water into electricity. It doesn't actually do that but you'd be surprised how many naive, stupid rich people there are looking to invest.
Even Pat Boone was suckered into investing in compressed air powered cars, another long running investment scam. Once again a technology that kinda-sorta works for a little while, often just long enough to fool people with deep pockets.
Magnesium air fuel cells don't deserve that stigma. They don't deserve the guilt by association either, they're a really promising technology. Especially for a sailboat or something that's surrounded by salt water you can use to replenish electrolyte, and which is plenty buoyant to carry many more stacks of replacement aluminum plates.
So be wary when you see seemingly miraculous alt energy breakthroughs. It might not even be totally a sham, it might really work 90% the way it appears to...but that last 10% is a fatal hidden flaw that renders it useless. You know I've been writing about scams for a while too, and this is one of the more common ones.
Stay Cozy!