No savings are involved. This isn’t about cheaper fuel but less polluting fuel.
And about a renewable fuel that isn't in primarily in the hands of a few despotic regimes around the world.
If this process has potential, and can displace a percentage of demand for oil in conjunction with other technologies, it can have a beneficial effect on segments of the market that aren't suitable for anything BUT gasoline by reducing demand. Any (economically-viable) step toward reduction of demand has benefits toward stabilizing price and reducing the power of certain evil regimes around the world. That much works for me.
Not to mention that if the alumina is recycled using a stand-alone nuke plant, no oil is consumed. No oil means no oil revenues for the sand monkeys. No revenues for the sand monkeys means no money for terrorists.
Even at break even vs gasoline, it would be a good deal just for that.
It's also fuel we could produce right here (the Alumina can recycled), rather than subsidizing the Angry Ayatollahs and Mad Mullahs, directly or indirectly. It also reduces the need to burn valuable chemical feed stocks.