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National Legal & Policy Center’s Paul Chesser on the issues with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s battery.
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The recent string of battery fires on Boeing 787 dreamliner is.
Could be traced to one thing says my next guest you can simply point the finger at the government's obsession with pushing green energy.
-- Chester associate fellow at the national legal and policy center joins me now Paul welcome back to the show you know.
It occurred to me that were reporting on his Boeing story all wrong all the reporting is CNA just talked about the fires.
It never goes back to this idea that companies like Boeing are being pushed.
Very hard by governments all over the world to make these green products whether -- are ready for the market or not.
Right who called -- Boeing maybe a little bit further down the chain but it is a results of that.
You know the green energy agenda ever since Al Gore and an inconvenient truth came out -- pushing the cause of climate change and trying to make.
Transportation more fuel efficient and you know it.
Companies are gonna try to be more fuel efficient anyway but this -- to the point where.
They're pushing technology pushing efficiencies that.
The technology may not be ready in and the government is incentivizing.
They're putting right.
Billions and billions of dollars out there for companies like -- for well electric vehicle companies for battery company Citi.
To have pretty assist technology that is just not ready for the demand doesn't look they have let's talk.
About what's -- about the dreamliner its may if the exterior of the thing is -- at a different materials more lightweight materials and then they have this.
Lithium ion battery like you do in your laptop right.
That's right.
They say the popular science says the the dreamliner.
Is about 80% come positive where -- this composite materials -- taken a lot of aluminum out of it and in the lithium ion battery there's all kinds of various technologies for the lithium ion battery these different metals -- it.
But they all have the same problem they have this fit thing they call live experts call thermal runaway.
Where you know they think anybody overheat.
They warm -- they get hot sometimes they cause fires we've seen stories about them in the laptops and cell phones.
In the -- -- and that's what is concerning the FAA right now with the dreamliner and to the point where.
Day and some airlines all around the world have grounded -- seven -- set until they figure out what's wrong.
I can't -- AAA here the dreamliner is claims from Boeing.
Unmatched fuel efficiency rebuilding in exceptional environmental performance using 20% less fuel.
Than similar planes of course we all want that.
Let me tell you Paul and -- or anybody else in in in my group we've all had problems with lithium.
-- I am lithium batteries and it you know it's a surprise you pick up your laptop it's burning hot and it's because the batteries overheating.
Should we be surprised by this.
Vote no but it -- you know I've.
I told somebody and raided today I had a laptop that -- really hot it was a MacBook can I replaced it this year and it runs a lot -- -- a lot better so they can improve the technology.
But now they're putting them in cars they're putting him in airplanes and these are enormous batteries -- and they're just not they've not been tested adequately yet.
And and you know the FAA did a lot of testing they spent a lot of time on this plane but they've been in design and development since for about ten years now they still haven't worked out all the buds.
And just because that -- reassuring hates it.
Even in the senate revises it.
Doesn't mean it's -- gonna happen doesn't mean it's arriving all the -- -- power taxpayers on the hook for this.
Well the stale Washington offered.
Billions of dollars to keep the dreamliner Boeing wanted to get out of Washington as of our union labor costs they move their headquarters to Chicago or ten or fifteen years ago.
They want it there are desperate to keep the dreamliner sedate ponied up a lot of money South Carolina got part of the production of the dreamliner in FAA has -- in.
Millions in incentives for this so you know it's another so called taxpayer investment in in green technology.
And it's it's look at what the results are.
-- Al Nippon Airways in Japan -- is losing him about a million dollars a day by having this just this airplane.
Rally there are always problems when you roll out a new product -- that industry -- I think we've seen it this is sort of over the top at this point -- and I think you've got to ask yourself.
Would we be better off if the -- -- airline makers that people were making these planes themselves.
Were making the innovations themselves with without all the help without all the prodding in the pushing what do you say right.
Well the other side of -- the green is the demonizing a fossil fuels and know that those.
Regulations have strangled written and driven up the cost of fossil fuels why couldn't if that -- it was there was a true free market why couldn't.
We have cheaper fossil fuels.
You know clean and -- burned and everything to to.
To do -- functions that these airplanes they've they've replaced a lot of what the fossil fuels did in the dreamliner.
Would battery power and that's why they're so dependent on lithium ion battery.
And it's getting harder place it's really you know a big part of the structure of the airplane.
Right it's going to be a long haul.
Six I think Paul thanks for coming -- not always great to hear from you appreciate it.
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