US hydrogen rules could decide fate of EU’s electrolyser industry https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/how-us-hydrogen-rules-could-decide-fate-of-eus-electrolyser-industry/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #electrolysis #hydrogen #hydrogenadditionality #hydrogeneconomy

Apologies for the lack of post-session photo updates yesterday. I tried to take some last night, but I couldn't get any passable-quality ones, so I left it until this morning to take some.

#electrolysis #HairRemoval #EvieElectrolysisExtracts #trans #transgender #TransWoman #TransFem #transition #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+ #LGBTQIA2S+

CW: slight redness / swelling

It's spicy electro needles time again!

Face exfoliated & scrubbed ✅
Strong numbing cream applied ✅
Area covered in cling film (aka plastic wrap) ✅
Strong painkillers taken ✅

This'll be session 12. It's another 2-hour session & will bring the cumulative total hours up to 19.

#electrolysis #HairRemoval #EvieElectrolysisExtracts #trans #transgender #TransWoman #TransFem #transition #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+ #LGBTQIA2S+

CW for photos: direct eye contact

Ok, Let’s talk about #hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (#FCEV) as an alternative to Battery Electric Vehicles (#BEV).

A FCEV uses the same electric motors as BEVs but gets its power from chemically reacting H₂ with O₂ from the air in a way that produces an electric current - a fuel cell. None of this is new technology Fuel Cells were a mature and reliable power source by the time the Apollo program was landing people on the moon. The issue with fuel cells is the same as with Enteral Combustion Engines(ICE) they are most efficient in a very narrow energy band great if the goal is to power the life support on a space craft, but not for the extremely variable loads needed to drive a car.

For this reason, FCEVs are hybrids with the same Li batteries as BEVs and ICE Hybrids like the Prius. Like ICE Hybrids they use the battery to accelerate and as storage for regenerative breaking with the fuel cell providing a constant recharge.

Why I’m skeptical of FCEVs

1) Greenwashing Hydrogen. FCEV advocates will point out that the only tailpipe emission is water vapor. The question is where does the hydrogen come from. By far the least expensive way to produce hydrogen gas is to crack the hydrogen atoms off of petrochemical hydrocarbons. As a mater of basic chemistry it takes far less energy to crack hydrocarbons than it does to electrolize water. And unlike the electrical grid where technologies like solar, wind and nuclear are already deployed and becoming an increasing share of our electric grid. Processes to produce hydrogen from water at anything close the the cost to strip it off fossil fuels is in the same development stage as cold fusion. at least for the next decade green hydrogen will be a premium product only available to the wealthiest buyers.

2) Hydrogen storage is hard. To fit enough hydrogen on a moving passenger car for it to have a 300 mile range requires pressures of 10,000psi (700 bar). The kinds of pressure vessels that can safely handle that pressure are expensive, and need regular inspection. Having had to keep a compressed air tank of just 200 psi in a fixed certified, I can tell you that there will be significant costs to regularly inspecting a 10,000 psi tank full of flammable gas that needs to survive a collision with one of the 2023 lineup of full sized puck up trucks.

But that is just the start. Hydrogen leaks. No matter how good you think your valves and fittings are the smallest molecule in the universe stored under huge pressure will find a way out. Ask anyone who has experience in the space industry where hydrogen is already the fuel of choice and they will tell you that hydrogen leaks are just a fact that has to be engineered around. On a vehicle this will be a small annoyance but at a fueling station this will be significant. The farther Hydrogen is transported and the longer it must be stored the higher the losses. There is also the energy factor of compressing that gas. To the best of my knowledge the prodigious amount of work done to pressurize the fuel is never recovered

FCEVs and BEVs both started to be produced about a decade ago, and while Tesla has scaled out its supercharger network world wide in that time. Hydrogen has less than 100 filling stations all in California. While these stations can fill a car in 5 minutes, they can only fill 2 to 5 vehicles before spending an hour refilling their high pressure storage tanks. One could argue that all Hydrogen needs is an eccentric billionaire ready to lose money for a decade building out infrastructure, however I think the infrastructure challenges with hydrogen exceed even Musk levels of ambition.

3) Cost. My M3 already costs noticeably less per mile that the equivalent ICE vehicle. Baring a huge technological leap, hydrogen will always be more expensive. because the least expensive hydrogen is processed out of the same fuel that runs ICE cars and provides less energy per molecule than those hydrocarbons when reacted with O₂ hydrogen cannot help but be a more expensive fuel.

So why are hydrogen FCEV still a thing? Well the vehicles are lighter, fueling times are comparable to gasoline, and the petrochemical industry is desperate for them to succeed. The oil industry can see the writing on the wall as states like California will ban new ICE vehicle sales in 2030. While holding out hope for a green hydrogen future a generation away, they can continue to have a market for their product as gasoline and diesel phase out. “Hydrogen will become the green fuel of the future” explain their sock puppets knowing that dirty hydrogen from their product will always have a price advantage. And to be fair, turning a mobile source into a point source of emissions does provide the opportunity for carbon capture (so called Blue Hydrogen), but all this still add even more cost while BEVs already have a price advantage in their fuel - not to mention that every home in the developed world has the infrastructure to charge BEVs.

Why write all this? Because when you get down to it most of the #FUD being spread around #EV s is coming from FCEV advocates who are trying not to let hydrogen become the betamax of the transition away from ICE transportation. In doing so they are making it harder than necessary for the world to move away from ICE transportation.

References:
https://www.thedrive.com/tech/33408/why-we-still-cant-deliver-on-the-promise-of-hydrogen-cars

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a41103863/hydrogen-cars-fcev/

Tags:
#GreenHydrogen #BlueHydrogen #ClimateCrisis #fossilefuel #greenwashing #Tesla #Toyota #Mirai #electrolysis

Not the greatest quality or best-lit photos, but these should give you all an idea of how much of an area around my lips & chin has now had the hair growth completely stopped.

#HairRemoval #EvieElectrolysisExtracts #trans #transgender #TransWoman #TransFem #transition #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+ #LGBTQIA2S+ #electrolysis

I think this will be me sorted for numbing cream for a while 😅

I'd ordered 8x the XL (30 g) tubes, but I guess they were out of those, so they sent me 24x standard (10 g) tubes instead.

& if by some chance I don't end up needing it all, I'll just donate the remainder to someone else.

#HairRemoval #laser #LaserHairRemoval #electrolysis #trans #transgender #TransWoman #TransFem #transition #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+ #LGBTQIA2S+

#electrolysis is painful, expensive, and takes years. I don't like it but there's no other option for me. At least these memes play in my head every time and make me laugh, so I decided to at least write it down.

(Technically it's not the same hair follicles that come back, you just have a heck of a lot of dormant ones that are gradually waking up and all we can do is pick them off as they crop up) #trans

Though it's listed as a numbing cream for tattoos, it's the best numbing cream I've found for laser hair removal & electrolysis without a prescription.

Obviously it's not as good as a stronger prescription-only numbing cream (with higher amounts of lidocaine or prilocaine, alongside possible additions of tetracaine or benzocaine) or local anaesthetic injections, but those aren't accessible to most folks, where this cream is.

2/2

#HairRemoval #laser #electrolysis

PSA

The highest, working discount code I've found for the Tattoo Numbing Cream store is still:

BCB15

... which gives a 15% discount.

https://www.tattoonumbingcream.com/

Their numbing cream is twice as strong as EMLA, containing 5% lidocaine & 5% prilocaine.

It works out cheaper to get the XL (30 g) tubes over the standard (10 g) tubes & buying the bulk packs (5 or 8 tubes).

1/

#HairRemoval #laser #electrolysis #trans #transgender #transition #TransWoman #TransFem #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+

@Terra @psiie @WrenArcher @violet In case it helps anyone, you can reduce the pain & cost in a few ways.

1. If your facial hair is suitable for laser, get 6-8 laser hair removal done with a Candela machine before moving to electrolysis.
2. Using a strong lidocaine / prilocaine numbing cream & cover the area in cling film (aka plastic wrap).
3. Take strong painkillers before sessions).

If you can afford them, local anaesthetic injections are an option for some.

#HairRemoval #electrolysis

Another relatively easy session 🥰

I think it really made the difference that I exfoliated the area last night, then scrubbed it again this morning before applying the numbing cream.

The painkillers also really helped 😌

My lovely electrologist got all visible stragglers on my top lip, then went all around my lower lip, sides & chin.

I'm so happy with today's progress 😁

#EvieElectrolysisExtracts #HairRemoval #electrolysis #trans #transgender #transition

CW: direct eye contact; red swelling

@MandyKatDWP It's recommended for all numbing creams to help the cream absorb deeper into the skin. They recommend an "air-tight, water-tight dressing", so cling film (aka plastic wrap) works perfectly.

It's actually listed in the instructions for lidocaine / prilocaine numbing creams.

#HairRemoval #LaserHairRemoval #electrolysis #NumbingCream

E.g.,
* https://www.emla.co.uk/how-to-apply/
* https://www.tattoonumbingcream.com/pages/directions-of-use

Preparations for today's #electrolysis session complete :TransFemHeart:

Face exfoliated & scrubbed ✅
Strong numbing cream applied ✅
Area covered in cling film (aka plastic wrap) ✅
Strong painkillers taken ✅

It's another 2-hour session today, which will bring my cumulative total up to 17 hours.

Wish me luck folks? :PleadingFace: 🤞

#HairRemoval #EvieElectrolysisExtracts #trans #transgender #TransWoman #TransFem #transition #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+

CW for images: direct eye contact

Gay morning folks 👋

Things on my #gaygenda today:

* Next 2-hour #electrolysis session.
* Remember to record an audio clip for #TransVoiceFriday.

Hope you're all doing okay today, but if you're not & I can help, my DMs are always open here & Discord :MentalHealthFlagHeart:

#GayMorning #GoodMorning

I have once again been stabbed in the face.
#StatementsThatMeanDifferentThingsToTransPeople #electrolysis

@lauraamalasunta *offers hugs over the hair issue* :PleadingFace:

My electrologist informed me that she'd been having to try to fix this same issue for trans women / fems who'd been wrongly advised by UK surgeons #JamesBellringer & #TinaRashid not to get all hair removed before #vaginoplasty 😞

I'm years away from any such thing myself, if indeed I ever get it, but I've nonetheless started laser down below as a precursor to full #electrolysis.

NGL: I am genuinely loving the lack of redness or swelling from yesterday's session compared to previous sessions 🥰

In case anyone's interest in which machine my electrologist is using, it's described as an "Apilus Center" from dectro.com.

#EvieElectrolysisExtracts #electrolysis #HairRemoval #transition #trans #transgender #TransWoman #TransFem #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+ #LGBTQIA2S+

Phew. Today's session was a breeze compared to last time. In fact, it may even have been the easiest session to date 😌

My electrolysis technician / electrologist did another pass on my top lip to remove all remaining visible hairs.

She then did a so-much-less-painful pass on across my chin area. It was so chill that I could have almost fallen asleep at times.

Now to await the post-electrolysis swelling 😅

#EvieElectrolysisExtracts #electrolysis

CW for images: direct eye contact

Time for another 2-hour electrolysis session. This will bring the cumulative total to 15 hours & the cumulative cost up to £1,050 GBP.

Face cleaned: check.
Numbing cream applied: check.
Cling film (plastic wrap) applied: check.
Strong painkillers taken: check.

#EvieElectrolysisExtracts #electrolysis #HairRemoval #transition #trans #transgender #TransWoman #TransFem #queer #LGBTQ+ #LGBTQIA+ #LGBTQIA2S+

CW for images: direct eye contact

Welp, just sent off a politely-worded, carefully-crafted email to the prescriptions & practice manager email addresses at my GP practice.

I've asked them to prescribe me a stronger topical anaesthetic cream for #electrolysis sessions than the cream I'm currently buying.

Don't get me wrong: the one I'm buying & recommend is the best I've found that you can buy, but I still feel a lot of pain around sensitive areas.

I still fully expect them to refuse to do anything.