Iceland's hydrogen hope - 23 Oct 08

The world financial crisis has hit Iceland particularly hard. The government has had to seek emergency funding from abroad, and suspend trading in its own currency.

But there's at least one cause for longer-term hope - efforts to make Iceland a pioneer in the alternative energy industry.

Nazanine Moshiri reports on the country's ground-breaking production and use of hydrogen fuel.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• iceland
• hydrogen
• nazanin
• moshiri
• aljazeera

[MrFireAss]

GO ICELAND! push the boundaries of science and mankind!  Thats what its all about.

[chalkies]

I love aljazeera, I don't think I would ever hear about these places without this news channel.

[NORFIE123456]

the only problem with that is that lithium ion batteries arent calsssed as renewable energy cos i dont know if you knew this whilst rambling on and on about a load of crap, hydrogen is the most abundent substance in the entire universe, so yeah, plus it produces water yet its powered by water so...... sorry to shoot you down :-)

[Choken1]

We're fully aware of that. That's one of the big reasons why hydrogen production is not viable in most countries. If you pollute to make electricity and use that to create hydrogen... well... you can't really call your hydrogen green fuel now can you?

Iceland's electricity is green because it's hydro powered and geothermal. That's why they're experimenting with hydrogen economy.

Other countries might do the same once they master efficient solar power or other forms of green energy.

[cavemanboborj]

don't you get a more efficient electricity-to-storage-to-elec­tricity conversion from lithium ion batteries than you do from generating hydrogen? Also, fuel cells cost millions of dollars whereas and equivalent stack of L-ion cell costs hundreds of thousands (and is dropping).

Honestly there is more of a future in HVDC lines under the sea from Iceland to Europe than there is in Hydrogen.

[schkaff]

What a charlatan -- he's not better than Iceland's bankers! What about trying to make gold from shit, like in the Middle Ages?

[johannjoi]

Þorsteinn Sigfússon

[d3adp001]

I pump more hydrogen than that in 1 second of cell operation. That setup is a century old.

[eatonjask]

Plus, even if Iceland is producing the hydrogen by splitting water, it can do that easily with all the electricity produced by its hydro-electric power dams and it's geo-thermal power plants - neither of which burns a scrap of carbon-based fuel.

[TheCrazyFinn]

"I split the water into hydrogen and oxygen."

I wonder how he does that? Maybe by using electricity produced through other means?

[fox20012]

can some one write Dr hydrogens name down for me

[raulitech]

oil companies will kill to stop this from happening. why is it they want to lend 'their expertise' in this hydrogen project?