[wordup] Iceland on Road to Oil-Free Future

[Adam Shand]

Via: http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/05/30/199229
From: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=585&ncid=753&e=1&u=/nm/20020530/sc_nm/autos_environment_iceland_dc_2
More: http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/presentations/2000/long_term_supply/sld012.htm

Hydrogen Puts Iceland on Road to Oil-Free Future
Thu May 30,12:04 PM ET

By Ben Hirschler

REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Iceland, with its steaming geothermal power
stations, already knows plenty about alternative energy.

Now this island of lava on the edge of the Arctic plans to become the
world's first society to ditch fossil fuels entirely, relying instead on
hydrogen made using the power of its roaring rivers and volcanoes.

Enthusiasts even talk about it one day becoming the "Kuwait of the
North" as an exporter of the new, green fuel to markets in Europe.

For Bragi Arnason, professor of chemistry at the University of Iceland
in Reykjavik, better known as "Professor Hydrogen," converting his
country to a fuel that produces no greenhouse gases will be a science
fiction dream come true.

In the relatively near future, Iceland's cars, buses and ships will be
driven by electric motors powered by hydrogen-fuel cells that produce
nothing but water in their exhausts.

Unlike other countries contemplating hydrogen power, Iceland has a
chance to develop a genuinely carbon dioxide-free system, since the
electricity to make hydrogen from the electrolysis of water will come
from hydro or geothermal power, not fossil fuel.

WAITING FOR THE BUS

Icelanders will get their first taste of the new era next year when
three hydrogen-powered buses hit the road.

That is a year later than originally planned, because nine other
European cities want to join in the bus experiment, requiring a bigger
production run. Arnason, looking on the bright side, sees this as an
endorsement of Iceland's approach.

In cities like Madrid, Amsterdam and Hamburg, hydrogen buses will
represent only tinkering at the edges. For Iceland, it is the start of
something much bigger.

Converting all the country's 180,000 vehicles and 2,500 fishing trawlers
to hydrogen won't happen overnight -- Iceland is giving itself 30-40
years to kick the oil habit completely -- but the launch of the energy
plan a year ago was a watershed.

The scheme is backed by DaimlerChrysler, which will build the first
buses, together with energy giant Royal Dutch Shell and Norwegian
industrial group Norsk Hydro

All three firms have invested in a new company called Icelandic New
Energy and plan to use Iceland as a test-bed for a technology that some
scientists think holds the key to mankind's energy needs after the oil
runs out.

"Thirty years ago people said it was nonsense," Arnason told Reuters.
"But slowly people have come round to the idea -- especially with the
involvement of big companies. Now, all around the world, people are
starting to look at hydrogen."

While technical problems remain, the technology of fuel cells has
advanced by leaps and bounds in the last 10 years.

Arnason reckons hydrogen fuel cells are now approaching competitiveness
with oil.

With oil selling at $20 a barrel, Icelandic hydrogen is competitive on
price. The fuel costs more to buy, but hydrogen-burning engines make
more efficient use of fuel than traditional internal combustion engines.

ENERGY PARADOX

At first sight, it might seem odd that Iceland should be bothering with
hydrogen and worrying about greenhouse emissions. After all, 93 percent
of all houses are already heated by eco-friendly geothermal energy.

But Iceland's tiny population of 280,000 faces a paradox -- its large
fishing fleet and energy-intensive metal smelting industry make it one
of the world's largest per-head producers of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases.

That is a major frustration for a country which takes its environmental
commitments seriously, yet has few options for expanding its economy.

Switching Iceland's vehicles and ships -- which today account for
two-thirds of carbon dioxide emissions -- from fossil fuels would give a
lot more flexibility to build up industry while still meeting Kyoto
Protocol (news - web sites) guidelines.

Jon Bjorn Skulason, general manager of Icelandic New Energy, says the
potential is considerable, since Iceland has so far tapped only 15
percent of its hydro and geothermal reserves.

The government is champing at the bit to expand the industrial base.
Only last week, it announced the start of formal talks with Alcoa on
construction of a new 320,000 metric ton smelter that would double
aluminum production.

STORAGE HEADACHE

With its cheap energy resources, Iceland has a chance to lead the world
in the coming hydrogen economy, Skulason believes.

Running tankers full of liquid hydrogen from Iceland to markets in
Europe is one option, although any surplus from the tiny domestic
economy means Iceland would probably never supply more than a small
European market, such as Denmark.

Meanwhile, there are some major technical issues to resolve.

Safety is one. The image of the 1937 Hindenburg airship disaster is
hardly reassuring, although experts argue that hydrogen is no more
explosive than gasoline and the Hindenburg's flammable casing, rather
than hydrogen, was largely to blame.

But storing the lightest element in the universe in a convenient form
remains a big problem.

BMW is planning to develop cars that would carry it as liquid, but most
other car makers think gas under pressure makes more sense. Either way,
the storage tank will be bulky.

That may be surmountable for buses but it is major headache for cars and
Iceland's fishing trawlers, which need to carry enough fuel for several
weeks.

One intermediate-stage option being examined in Iceland is to store
hydrogen in methanol, which could be synthesized using carbon dioxide
emitted by the metals industry.

It is not a perfect solution since burning the methanol would still
release some greenhouse gases. But Arnason thinks it could be a useful
halfway house while the country waits for long-term storage solutions,
such as carbon nanotubes.