Summary
In the 1970's Iceland converted their power system to run on the abundant geothermal energy found in its volcanic landscape. Now, Iceland is using its geothermal energy supply to create a new, hydrogen-powered economy and several companies are using Iceland as a test bed for their own hydrogen technologies.
The Iceland New Energy (INE) consortium is working with Daimler-Chrysler, Norsk Hydro and Shell to start running busses on hydrogen, before using the technology to move cars and, finally, Iceland's fishing fleet. The plan is to move Iceland completely over to hydrogen power in 40 years and, hopefully, supply the hydrogen necessary for other countries' power needs.
Original source:
http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/FuelCellToday/IndustryInformation/IndustryInformationExternal/NewsDisplayArticle/0,1602,5770,00.html
Details
Nearly 30 years ago, Iceland was looking for ways to reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels and replace them with local, renewable sources-geothermal and hydroelectric power.
From his study of Iceland's hot-water reserves, Arnason realized that the country was planning to tap only a small fraction of the energy resources that lay hidden beneath its volcanic surface.
That convinced him that Iceland could become the first nation in the world to power its economy entirely with what is now widely seen as the energy of the future: hydrogen.
Several multinational corporations, familiar with his ideas and attracted by the notion of using Iceland's natural energy resources to produce hydrogen from water (rather than extracting it from a hydrogen-rich fuel such as liquefied natural gas or methanol), approached the Icelandic government to express their interest in implementing a national hydrogen plan.
In 1999, three of those corporations-Shell, Daimler-Chrysler, and the energy and metals company Norsk Hydro-joined forces with the Icelandic government, universities, research institutions, and business leaders under the banner of Icelandic New Energy (INE), a "cooperation platform" whose goal was to power the country's transportation system and fishing fleet entirely with hydrogen.
Each company has made its own particular contribution to the project: Daimler-Chrysler has provided buses for the pilot phase, as it has for nine cities elsewhere in Europe; Norsk Hydro has the know-how for producing
hydrogen; and Shell offers its long experience in delivering fuel to the public.
The three corporations do not control the INE agenda, however; Icelandic stakeholders deliberately reserved for themselves a 51 percent majority of votes.
The corporations take a similarly long-term approach: "We have been in the
energy business for 100 years," says de Koning.
Buses are the first step; after that come cars, and finally the country's fishing fleet.
The only significant challenge to date occurred when a pipe in the Reykjavik filling station ruptured, leading to a minor redesign.
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health author and award-winning journalist with a passion for teaching people how to improve their health He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, and he has created several downloadable courses on survival and preparedness, including his widely-downloaded course on personal safety and self-defense. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2010, Adams co-founded NaturalNews.com, a natural health video sharing site that has now grown in popularity. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also a noted technology pioneer and founded a software company in 1993 that developed the HTML email newsletter software currently powering the NaturalNews subscriptions. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and practices nature photography, Capoeira, martial arts and organic gardening. He's also author of numerous health books published by Truth Publishing and is the creator of several consumer-oriented grassroots campaigns, including the Spam. Don't Buy It! campaign, and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. He also created the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the ending of corporate control over medicines, genes and seeds. Known by his callsign, the 'Health Ranger,' Adams posts his missions statements, health statistics and health photos at www.HealthRanger.org
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Monday, April 11, 2005
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