Tuesday March 4, 2008
Green cruise
By KRISTIN ARNA BRAGADOTTIR
Iceland’s hydrogen ship heralds a fossil-free future.
AT FIRST glance, the red ship hardly looks like a herald of the future. Even its owner admits the hull needs a coat of paint and the interior some spit and polish.
But in a few weeks, the Elding – Icelandic for “lightning” – will be transformed into the world’s first hydrogen-equipped commercial vessel, the latest sign that Iceland is pushing hard to become the first nation to break free from the constraints of fossil fuel.
Come April, visitors to Europe’s northernmost capital will get a taste of that future by taking whale-watching tours aboard the ship, or renting one of the world’s first hydrogen-powered hire cars.
The conversion of the Elding to hydrogen power will initially be confined to the use of a fuel cell to power the engine that runs its lighting, but for ?43 (RM206) a trip, the ship will offer whale-watchers unprecedented peace.
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The Eldingwill be transformed into the world’s first hydrogen-equipped commercial vessel. |
When the crew spot whales at sea, they shut down the main engines to let people hear the mammals swim and blow water – an experience owner Vignir Sigursveinsson said had been marred in the past by the rumble of a diesel auxiliary engine below.
“When we have the hydrogen machine, the boat will be completely soundless, which will make the experience of seeing the whales in their natural habitat even more magical,” said Sigursveinsson.
Besides appealing to tourists seeking greener travel, the 155-passenger ship will take Iceland a step closer to its goal of converting its entire transport system to hydrogen by 2050.
Jon Bjorn Skulason, head of Icelandic New Energy, the venture between companies, academia and the government shepherding the process, said the ship would help show whether the fuel could work at sea: essential if Iceland wants to convert its fishing fleet, one of the world’s largest.
With limited global supplies of oil and gas and mounting worries about greenhouse gas emissions, the race to find an ideal green transportation fuel is gaining urgency. Since hydrogen can be made from plain water and produces only electricity and water vapour when burned, its backers see it as a prime candidate.
But producing it from water takes electricity. According to 2005 data from the International Energy Agency, 67% of the world’s electric power still comes from non-renewable sources such as coal, gas and other fossil fuels.
Two-thirds of electricity in volcanic Iceland is already derived from renewable sources – its plentiful rivers and waterfalls and the geothermal heat that boils beneath its crust. This has allowed the country to break new ground in hydrogen testing, with the world’s first commercial hydrogen refuelling station in 2003 and the first hydrogen-powered rental cars last year.
The hydrogen filling station, at first reserved for three buses in a European Union-backed pilot, opened to cars late last year and will fill the fuel tanks of the Elding.
Now one of dozens in the world, the station looks similar to its petrol-dispensing counterpart, but is instead hooked up to water, and power to separate the water into its components, hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen is dispersed, while the hydrogen is compressed for piping directly into vehicles.
Skulason believes by 2030 or 2035, he believes most of Iceland’s vehicles could be hydrogen-fuelled, although this depends on the arrival of affordable models.
Full conversion to hydrogen will take time. It will need changes to infrastructure, affordable hydrogen cars – now as much as five times as expensive as conventional ones – and, in Iceland’s case, a viable shipping technology.
“Hydrogen may work for whale-watching, but it is challenging for most shipping applications because of the long distances travelled and therefore significant amounts of hydrogen storage volume needed,” said Dolf Gielen, senior energy analyst at the International Energy Agency. – Reuters
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