Iceland to become first hydrogen economy.

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Iceland with its numerous geothermal vents has decided to use this energy to split water and produce hydrogen for use in powering vehicles as well as fish trawlers thus becoming the first country to use 100% alternative energy.

Is this a viable solution for the U.S.?

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Well-you have plenty of geothermal vents if such things are where hot air comes from.

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It's a brilliant idea.
It's one of the reasons I will eventually retire to Iceland.

The technique will work in the USA with one subtle modification.

Instead of using the heat from geothermal vents it should be possible to harness America's 3rd largest resource : the hot air eminating from the mouths of the politicians.

With any luck it'll shut them up too.

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Re: Iceland to become first hydrogen economy.

coluber2001 wrote:

Iceland with its numerous geothermal vents has decided to use this energy ... ...

Well, virtually all of its electricity and heating comes from hydroelectric power and the geo-thermal water reserves since decades, and in 2001 they already made the decission you quote.

I don't know, if there was anything about this in the news recently, but what in Iceland now is done, is this:

Quote:

But this remote island nation is now planning to test another natural resource - its basalt rocks - to see if they can be used to safely bury carbon dioxide gas emissions before they harm the atmosphere. And if the experiment works, it also could prove useful in much bigger countries that also have basalt, such as the United States, India, Brazil and Russia.

Source

To answer your question: no, I don't think so.

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Here's a BBC article that I failed to post:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1727312.stm

I think it's possible to generate all the U.S.'s electircal needs via alternative energy using nuclear, solar, and wind power. The question is whether we have the will.

Would it be at all feasible to produce hydrogen for use in vehicles instead of petroleum? It would be an enormous undertaking. But what's the alternative? Perpetual war in the Middle East?

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coluber2001 wrote:

Here's a BBC article that I failed to post:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1727312.stm

Right:

Quote:

Monday, 24 December, 2001, 22:09 GMT

:wink:

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col wrote-

Quote:

The question is whether we have the will.

I rather think not.

Quote:

Perpetual war in the Middle East?

I think we have the will for that.Shoulder to shoulder.

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spendius wrote:

col wrote-

Quote:
The question is whether we have the will.

I rather think not.

Quote:
Perpetual war in the Middle East?

I think we have the will for that.Shoulder to shoulder.

I assume you're being bittery sarcastic, or maybe just realistic, since, it seems, we've already decided on war in the middle east. Is Iran next?

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With any luck.

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It depends on what hydrogen is used for. In vehiceles, maybe. But nothing else. Since it takes energy to split the hydrogen bond, it's wastefull for any non-mobile use.

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USAFHokie80 wrote:

It depends on what hydrogen is used for. In vehiceles, maybe. But nothing else. Since it takes energy to split the hydrogen bond, it's wastefull for any non-mobile use.

I was thinking of hydrogen only in terms of a transport fuel since hydrogen is simply a way to store energy. To split the hydrogen bond we would use electricity generated from nuclear, solar, wind, and any other available natural source.

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I doubt this will be viable for the U.S economy, and here is why I think...granted it is only MY opinion.

Oil industry and its CEO's are way too rich and powerful to let something as a Hydrogen driven economy take over. Its a cheap and effective way to solve alot of alternative fuel costs, however, the multi billion dollar a year oil industry in the united states will NOT let this type of technology be accepted by, auto makers and fuel stations. The oil tycoons have thier hands deep into the political arm of the U.S, and it makes all those politicians and people who make the rules alot of money.

I'm not saying it would not be nice to see, a hydrogen economy, I just do not foresee americans being allowed the technology, not mass produced anyway, or without the oil producers out of the way.

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An easy way to show proof of this is the new oil wells being drilled in Alaska. Americans would not be so willing to ruin these national forest parks if a hydrogen based fuel sorce was just around the corner.

Another giveaway is even if the economy is split 50/50 on the hydrogen/oil, the oil producing tycoons would still hold more money and sway with politicians since hydrogen is a cheap alternative. Oil will always produce more money than hydrogen or any natural resoursce. Well unless all the oil wells run dry. But then you can expect the price of hydrogen to shoot through the roof.

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I thought that it's hard to break the water bond.

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My contention for hydrogen is that with the rapidly developing economies of India and China, we won't have to wait for the last drop of oil. Prices will soar out of the reach of consumers long before that. We shouldn't wait for that crisis before acting. We must also factor in the cost of an enormous military and Middle East wars, one of which we are now engaged in. A gallon of gas is not just $3.00, it's also the price of wars and lives.

I really wasn't asking whether it politically viable for a hydrogen economy; I wondered if it was physically posible to produce enough hydrogen to replace petroleum as a transport fuel in this country. I'm sure it's politically posible with the right leadership, which seems to be less than adequate at the present time.

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navigator wrote:

I thought that it's hard to break the water bond.

I understand that it's quite simple. You pass an electrical current through a saltwater or electrolyte solution, and you get oxygen and hydrogen gas.

I heard a blurb on the news that California will have 200 hydrogen refueling stations by 2010. I hope we have the cars by then.

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Iceland to become first hydrogen economy.

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