Implementing the hydrogen economy

Abstract

In the Icelandic community the use of renewable energy and the tests with a clean domestic fuel that most people refer to as the fuel of the future have become the points of focus. In Reykjavik this future has arrived. Hydrogen is used currently as the energy carrier within the public transportation system and is electrolyzed from water with hydroelectric power and leaves the system as water again. A small collaboration platform, Icelandic New Energy Ltd (INE), has been working on projects related to hydrogen as an energy carrier since 1999. A number of projects and feasibility studies are currently being carried out in Reykjavik, revolving around the issue of making hydrogen domestically from water and renewable energy (hydro and geothermal power), abundant local resources. In April 2003 the first electrolytic hydrogen production, compression and filling station was inaugurated in Reykjavik. The refueling station is designed to be open to public services. The hydrogen station is a delivery to be tested within the project ECTOS, the Ecological City Transport System — a fuel cell bus demonstration running between 2003 and 2005. A socioeconomic and environmental research methodology has been established and followed for three years now. The outcomes of ECTOS are needed to establish the basis of further decisions of integrating hydrogen into societal functions. Amongst the undertakings is a forecast for the scale and costs of the essential infrastructure. General surveys have shown that Icelanders have a high general acceptance towards using hydrogen as a fuel for the transportation sector and fishing vessels. Therefore it is presumed that hydrogen fuel stations need only to be established in a limited number before hydrogen fuel vehicles can be introduced in the public market. Yet, a realistic time-frame depends on the hands-on experience, the performance and availability of the equipment in the market. In 2005 the outcomes and experiences from the ECTOS project will be published.