Best Icarus fuel?

[Panfilo]

I've just started setting up interplanetary logistics chains and while I have access to a variety of fuels, so far it seems like Energetic Graphite seems to be the fuel of choice. Its precursor material is abundant on my starting planet, requires minimal processing, and a stack of it seems to give a pretty good amount of juice.

The game gives you 5 tanks of liquid hydrogen, I assume to give you a bit of help early on so you're not constantly having to burn leaves for power. This had suggested to me that it would be a mid-game power source, but before you travel to other planets I feel Titanium is just too scarce to be wasted on fuel cells. Later on, coal production scales up to the point that you'll have all the graphite you'll never need, and so far I've not had to really worry about running out of space gas so long as I fill up my mecha power banks with graphite and keep about 4 or so stacks as a backup. Currently at 70 inventory slots this is a trival investment in cargo space.

Does it get any more cost effective than this? I can't help but feel that beyond this point any 'better' fuel is going to be rarer or have much bigger processing chains- I see that nuclear fuel rods are a tech coming up but obtaining Deutrium is either time or power intensive. I suppose coal will run out eventually and I may have to transition to something else, but what?

[Mister Veeg]

deutrium is an infinite resource via gas giant exploitation (or power intensive via the particle collider on otherwise-infinite hydrogen)

graphite is also infinite via xray cracking oil.

Nuclear fuel (like 40 MW) lasts a very long time and antimatter (some value in GW) longer than that.

Generally speaking graphite is best because it's readily available until you start getting into warp drive shenanigans

[Panfilo]

Thanks. That is what I assumed, was just wondering if there was anything better to have even less downtime. But it sounds like the alternatives are going to have a much greater logistics chain or are scarce resources you'll need for a lot of other important things.

[Mister Veeg]

deutrium and titanium aren't particularly scarce once you get interplanetary logistics going. The initial setup is a little daunting but once you have the stations in place they'll just run on their own.

[ulzgoroth]

Deuterium is easy to get a lot of even just with fractionators. Set up a loop of them on the fastest conveyor belts you can get and they wind up working quite fast.

Deuterium fuel cells take an appreciable amount of manufacturing though.

[Katieclysm]

Graphite -> Hydrogen fuel cells (get these asap for the increased charge rate) -> Deuterium cells

[cattynebulart]

Fusion fuel is my material of choice, it;s pricy but a stack lasts forever and the recharge is so much faster

[Darkaiser]

And THIS is why I read the Forums!

[Britty mitty]

Originally posted by Jarin:

Graphite -> Hydrogen fuel cells (get these asap for the increased charge rate) -> Deuterium cells

Short term before you can use deuterium to create fuel cells yes, create hydrogen fuel cells, but once you can create a decent supply of deuterium cells i'd cut out your hydrogen fuel cell production, there is no real advantage to making them other then for your mecha due to the higher fuel core burn rate. Uses 5 hydrogen for one fuel cell + 1 titanium plate so no energy capacity advantage.

[Zaflis]

So hydrogen fuel cells are also better than carbon for the burnable fuel based generators? We already figured it's probably great loss using coal itself for power.

[Reformatio]

I went from Energetic Graphite straight into Deuterium.
Why? Because I am a lazy bastard.
Energetic Graphite I carry around for manual crafting so it is always available but I still hate filling it in all the time.
That problem is solved by Deuterium, put it in and you can go for hours, also it is used in later recipes.
I only just started setting up antimatter, but as far as I can tell the less you have to refill the more you can conentrate on the fun parts of the game.

[Ambrsale]

Originally posted by Reformatio:

I went from Energetic Graphite straight into Deuterium.
Why? Because I am a lazy bastard.
Energetic Graphite I carry around for manual crafting so it is always available but I still hate filling it in all the time.
That problem is solved by Deuterium, put it in and you can go for hours, also it is used in later recipes.
I only just started setting up antimatter, but as far as I can tell the less you have to refill the more you can conentrate on the fun parts of the game.

Same here. Farmed some first antimatter, thinking on switch fuel to top level cells.
Deuterium ones are well used for Dyson Sphere build.
Also, if you want to save some coins here and there - I find it is calming to chop some wood and stone on my home planet, but it doesnt make any significant change on the long run on the resource side.
Same as fuel - one have to use 2 deuterium fuel cells to send one dyson sphere builder rocket, and you need like tens thousands of them
So dont worry about 10-50 more fuel cells for your mech, just make yourself such a favor )