Hereby Icelandic new Energy would like to extend its gratitude to the funds and handful of companies that have sponsored all our projects. In the year 2010 the following have spnosored demonostrations: Car rental Bilaleiga Akureyrar (Höldur) http://www.holdur.is/, Tour operator  Isafold http://www.isafoldtravel.is/ and NORA the Nordic Atlantic Cooperation.  http://nora.fo . Their funding goes to partially pay for our work and to reduce for example the rent of electric cars when families take these to the test.

We hereby announce that we are proud of having them as supporters and supportive friends.

The mayor of Reykjavik will test varoius clean energy cars during the upcoming seasons. Icelandic New Energy delivered to him the first one, the Ford Explorer Jeep that has been here for more than a year. The jeep has bee used in a rally in Norwaszy, and has been used by various persons in several companies. hydrogen driven fuel cell jeep to Jón Gnarr the mayor of Reykjavik. The jeep is a Ford Explorer FCV and both the mayor and his driver seem pleased with the power and the appearance of the vehicle.

Ford developed this car to show that hydrogen fuel cell technology can be used in all sizez of cars, but the FC Ford explorer is not thie so called concept car, it will not be put in mass production. Jon Björn Skulason in Icelandic New Energy has stateed that the jeep has excellent driging abilities and is silent and feels like the real thing, a real pleasure to drive even to go fly-fishing.

Here you can see news coverage of the mayor and the event (in Icelandic): Jón Gnarr driving a hydrogen jeep

Icelandic New Energy just announced a demonstration of electric vehicles where 8 households are offered to rent consecutively a battery vehicle for one month and then a fuel cell hydrogen vehicle also for one month. Our goal is to collect reports from people in all sorts niches on their view of these New-energy vehicles and how they fit in their daily routines. The demonstration starts on 20th of August 2010 and people should send a note to glk@newenergy.is to apply. Only 8 participants will get this chance. It is essential that these households (families or roommates) have access to a electric socket and preferebly a garage for the hyddrogen vehicle. Drivers must be at least 22 years old and be interested in environmental issues. The selected participants must be ready to keep a driving log and be open for an interview on their expectations and later on their views and comments during the rent period. The users must pay for their own hydrogen and battery filling and the rent for the car will be 25.000Ikr / month inclucing insurance.

Send a note stating why you should be the ones to get the opportunitiy to participate before the 29th of July!

During this darkest of seasons, Icelandic New Energy and Brimborg, Ford retailer in Iceland, have the pleasure of announcing still further steps in demonstrating hydrogen as fuel for transport; hydrogen which is made from water and renewable power from local resources. Ten Ford Focus FCV will be integrated into the traffic in Reykjavik in December 2009. These are all used fuel cell vehicles and the goal of this project step is to further test customer acceptance and endurance of the fuel cell technology. We are happy that this event occurs during the important COP meeting in Copenhagen and remind our readers to look up the common statement of 7 car producers on fuel cell vehicles. Clean solutions need moral support.

Iceland as a test ground

Since 1999 Icelandic New Energy has been acting as a facilitator to integrate hydrogen as fuel into society. Using electro-mobility is a natural extension of the local energy infrastructure, which runs entirely on renewable energy. Using local electricity to substitute for carbonated imported fuel has been a central policy of Icelandic government throughout the twentieth century and may lead to the benchmarking achievement in a country that has been highly dependent on the import of fossil fuels.

Ford recognition of Iceland’s experience, research and skills in handling hydrogen is the key reason for testing the durability and further enhancement of mapping customer acceptance in Iceland. Shell Hydrogen in cooperation with Skeljungur have kept a commercial refueling station running for 6 years, with >98% uptime in the last 2 years. This achievement along with trained researcher and maintenance staff for both vehicles and infrastructure makes Iceland an extremely attractive location for hydrogen and fuel cell testing. Two Ford vehicles have already been in use in Iceland rendering good experience. The addition will make the total hydrogen vehicle fleet the largest one in Europe with 22 H2 vehicles in service in Reykjavik.

On November 30th the H2 Parade in Copenhagen was a success and has received a good coverage by international media. During that same day, a coalition of 16 associations sent a statement to Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change to point out the many significant benefits of hydrogen.  The NEW IG weekly monitoring program identified other sources that wrote about this topic.  Here are the links provided by NEW IG.

The Hydrogen Journal (UK, 30 Nov): Copenhagen parades 14 hydrogen vehicles

Renewable Energy Focus (UK, 30 Nov): Parade of hydrogen cars energizes Copenhagen ahead of COP15 

The Copenhagen Voice (Denmark, 30 Nov): Across the water for hydrogen

The Independent (UK, 1 Dec): Hydrogen convoy arrives in Copenhagen

Hamburg, Germany, 17^th November 2009

The clean mobility revolution has undoubtedly begun, and hydrogen as a non-polluting, efficient fuel is an established feature of this revolution. Hydrogen powered buses are here and now! The European Commission co-funded HyFLEET:CUTE project has successfully operated more than 40 hydrogen powered buses over four years in 10 cities on three continents, with:

Ø  over 8.5 m people transported in regular public transport operation;

Ø  more than 2.5 m km travelled, and

Ø  in excess of 550 thousand kg of Hydrogen safely refuelled,

The impressive results presented at the conference, held in Hamburg on November 17-18 have shown that Europe is in sight of commercialisation of this leading edge technology. Today’s technology allows buses to run efficiently and cleanly on hydrogen. Crucially, the project has shown that infrastructure to produce, supply and distribute hydrogen for transport can be implemented efficiently. Mr. Jan Mücke, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development, said: “It is now important that we create and progress the market for new technologies in the transport sector.  We have to live up to our responsibility for tackling climate change and ensuring energy security. The hybridization of drivetrains with battery and fuel cell technology is an important milestone on this road.”

The cities involved in the project have demonstrated a range of approaches to establishing the necessary infrastructure. These varied approaches have contributed to overcoming a number of the challenges facing hydrogen powered public transport. This includes developing ways to operate the bus technology with minimal special support in a standard public transport bus fleet.

HyFLEET:CUTE has contributed to major European Union strategic objectives in different policy areas. The promotion of innovation and the creation of jobs in the renewed Lisbon Strategy is linked to programmes aiming to meet the energy and environmental targets outlined in the “20-20-20 by 2020” Energy Package. Against the background of the economic crisis, HyFLEET:CUTE has demonstrated that investment in hydrogen fuel technology pays off, and has the potential to feed into large scale job creation in Europe.

The conference concludes by setting the next challenges:

Ø  The use of hydrogen as a transport fuel requires a regulatory framework to ensure that hydrogen transport applications are introduced in a coordinated fashion

Ø  To stimulate market introduction of clean technologies, it is important to ensure that procurement decisions are based on lifecycle operation costs, not merely initial purchase costs

Ø  In the long term, hydrogen should be produced from renewable energy sources locally

Ø  The purchase price of the buses must be significantly reduced

Ø  Hydrogen transport projects need to move quickly from development and demonstration to large scale projects involving large fleets of buses.

For further information on the initiative and to receive high resolution photos, please refer to http://www.global-hydrogen-bus-platform.com/ or contact Simon Whitehouse at s.Whitehouse@pe-international.com

On November 23^rd from 15-16 the NAHA General Assembly will meet in Okern, Nowary at the Quality 33 Hotel.  During this same period, the Nordic Hydrogen and Fuel Conference will convene.  For further details please visit NAHA's official website and under NEWS you will find other related details. 

Birna Guttormsdottir, employed by Matís during her completion of her thesis, graduated in May 2009, earning a M.Sc in Environment and Natural Resource at the University of Iceland. Her project analyzed and evaluated the potential environmental impact of two different types of fishing methods, bottom trawled cod versus long line fishing.  Her findings concluded that the most dominating phase within both fishing methods is the fishery phase, which is due to the fossil fuel consumption.  For 1 kg of processed bottom trawled cod, 1.1 litre of fuel was combusted by the vehicle.  In comparison to the long liner cod which utilized 0.36 for the same amount of fish.  When the oil consumption was set to zero for both fishing methods, there was a 73% reduction in carbon footprints for bottom trawled cod and an 85% reduction for long lined cod.  “It can therefore be said that if the fishing vessel would be converted to hydrogen the greenhouse gas emissions would decrease substantially.” 

To see the entire report you may contact Birna at birnag at Umhverfisstofnun.is

Technology developments for alternative fuels are accelerating - electricity and bio fuels are gaining ground. What will be the future niche for hydrogen?

The world has to reconsider its energy options to achieve the Kyoto protocol targets. This fact raises discussions about clean alternatives to conventional fuel: Hydrogen, battery, bio-fuels – which alternative of all is the most promising? Or is it at the end a combination of all of them? And if so, what will be the role of hydrogen?

Hydrogen certainly has received significant attention for not producing pollution and the successful HyFLEET:CUTE project has shown that the operation of hydrogen operated buses in existing public transport systems has great promise. However, to serve large scale markets the biggest challenges have turned out to be the costs for infrastructure and vehicles as well as the challenge of providing “clean” hydrogen in an efficient way.

Mr Pütz will raise these issues on the HyFLEET:CUTE Final Conference and discuss the performance of hydrogen systems compared with “competing” renewable systems (battery and bio-fuels) for various transport applications.  He will also discuss the potential of offering multiple options to the market simultaneously to reach the best results.

Mr Konrad Pütz is adviser in Transport and Environmental Technology for the Bellona Foundation, a major international environmental NGO based in Norway, which works to combats environmental issues such as climate change.

Join in the discussion at the HyFLEET:CUTE Final Conference in Hamburg, Germany on Tuesday, 17th & Wednesday 18th November 2009.

Contact / more information: www.global-hydrogen-bus-platform.com or info@hyfleet-cute-final-conference.com. Registration fee includes a gala dinner. The conference is supported by the European Commission.

Please note that the number of participants is limited.

Daimler was awarded the prestigious F-Cell Award during the F-Cell Conference in Stuttgart for innovative use of fuel cell technology in the Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid urban bus.

“We are very delighted about this award as it once again highlights our innovative skill as the world’s largest bus manufacturer and also helps take us a big step toward our goal of zero-emission driving,” said Hartmut Schick, Head of Daimler Buses.  “The award confirms that we also are the technology leader in the area of alternative drive technologies.”

The F-Cell Award was presented by Baden-Württemberg’s Environmental Ministry, Wirtschaftsförderung Region Stuttgart GmbH, and EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG for the ninth time. The innovation award established by the state of Baden-Württemberg honours application-oriented developments related to fuel cells.

The Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid will be on display at the HyFLEET:CUTE Conference in Hamburg on November 17th and 18th. It will also be giving DEMONSTRATION DRIVES FOR CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS.

To find out more AND REGISTER FOR THE HyFLEET:CUTE CONFERENCE GO HERE

You can find out more about the F-CELL AWARD HERE

GLOBAL HYDROGEN BUS PLATFORM

NEWS SERVICE

At an annual car show, General Motors introduced the Sequal, a hydrogen fuel car providing the same level of performance related to conventional cars.    For example, range is approximately 483 km.  One interesting statement was related the need of government participation to serve as a driver to integrate this type of technology into society.  To watch the video, please click here.

Members of the North Atlantic Hydrogen Association continue to move forward in the integration of hydrogen into society by employing new and exciting methods.  Please follow this link to get an update regarding the development of a hydrogen refueling station in Lillestrom.

HyNor Lillestrom

 Mercedes-Benz has announced that it will launch a production hydrogen fuel cell car in the United States next year based on its subcompact B class currently sold in Europe.  200 vehicles are expected to be produced, while at least half will go to customers in California, as they have an appropriate amount of infrastructure.  The car has a hydrogen motor and a small electric battery.  This article especially is important to Icelandic New Energy because as part of the Sustainable Marine and Road Transport Project (SMART-H2), Icelandic New Energy tested Daimlers A class F-Cell and it exceeded all expectations while being driven thousands of kilometres in Iceland.

To add on to this article please click on this link to read about Toyota's plan to increase production and reduce costs sharply by 2015.

November 24-26 Icelandic New Energy will participate in the Hydorgen and Fuel Cells in the Nordic Countries conference, which is being held in Oslo, Norway.  The objective of the coference is to give a comprehensive overview of the relative activities in the Nordic countries and to stengthen the collaborative network within this field.  To find further details about this conference follow this link Hydrogen Conference

The national energy company of Greenland, Nukissiorfiit has started an exciting project, called H2KT that are to enable increase in the use of renewable energy in Greenland. The H2KT-project are to establish a hydrogen and fuel cell plant in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, in order to demonstrate and gather the first operation experience of using the technology for storage of renewable energy. H2 Logic A/S has been selected as supplier of the plant, after a competitive bid round, with planned start of operation by end of the year.

Global challenges – Local solutions

Lately Greenland have achieved a significant attention in the climate debate, onwards the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen later this year. This is mainly because the effects of climate change are particularly visible in Greenland in terms of the drastic decrease of the ice coverage.

Even though the climate challenges and the effects in Greenland require global solutions Nukissiorfiit has initiated the H2KT project in order to increase the use of clean renewable energy locally. This will also help Greenland to reduce its dependency on polluting and increasingly expensive oil commodities.

The energy situation today

About half of the energy – electricity and heat – that Nukissiorfiit produces today are based on hydro power. The remainder energy is produced using imported diesel fuel. Especially the smaller towns and settlements are dependent on diesel based energy supply, and many of them do not have the possibility to establish hydro power or other types of renewable energy in larger scale. Further diesel energy production is also used as reserve in the cities that are supplied from hydro power today.

Besides the significant emissions from use of diesel, the dependency of imported diesel is a challenge for Greenland in the long term. The considerable rice in oil price in 2008 resulted in an increase of the diesel price in Greenland and thus increased energy costs for the end-users. In long term where the oil will be scarce and expensive this can become a considerable challenge for the energy supply in Greenland.

Better utilization of renewable energy

It is obvious to increase the use of the significant potentials for renewable energy that Greenland holds, among others hydro power. Calculations have shown that Greenland have a theoretical hydro power potential enough to supply 70% of Europe with electricity. However increasing the use of renewable energy requires new technologies and opportunities for storing energy. Storage is needed to balance the seasonal fluctuations in energy consumption and to enable distribution of energy to cities and settlements without local potential for renewable energy production.

Future opportunities in hydrogen

The H2KT-project shall investigate the opportunities of using hydrogen and fuel cells as energy storage in Greenland. The idea is to use electricity in periods of excess hydro power to split water into hydrogen and store this. In periods with higher energy consumption, typically during winter time, the stored hydrogen is concerted to electricity and heat in a fuel cell. In future the hydrogen can also be distributed to cities and settlements where it is not possible to produce renewable energy.

In long term hydrogen and fuel cells may enable Nukissiorfiit to completely avoid use of diesel for energy production. Also hydrogen can be used as fuel for transport and with the tremendous hydro power potential in Greenland, export of hydrogen may also be possible in the future.

Experimental plant

The hydrogen and fuel cell plant that will be established at the Nukissiorfiit headquarter in Nuuk, are to function as an experimental plant giving Nukissiorfiit specific experiences in both production and use of hydrogen. The plant will produce hydrogen based on electricity from the hydro power plant in Nuuk, and the hydrogen will be used for supplying energy for the Nukissiorfiit headquarter. The plant is also to help increase the public awareness of hydrogen and fuel cells in Greenland.

The plant is supplied by H2 Logic and consists of a hydrogen electrolysis system that uses electricity to split water into hydrogen. The hydrogen is then stored for later use in a fuel cell where it is converted to electricity and heat. Waste heat from the hydrogen production and the fuel cell is used for local heating while the electricity is supplied to the grid or used in the Nukissiorfiit headquarter.

The plant also includes a compression and distribution system that enables storing of the hydrogen under pressure in distributable bulks. This way the hydrogen can be distributed to other cities and settlements in Greenland where it can be used for local energy production. The plant is also prepared for a future upgrade with a hydrogen refuelling station, enabling use of hydrogen as fuel for transport.

To retrieve the rest of this article click on this link H2 Logic

To download a pdf info sheet click here

The Norwegian EVS Rally came to an end last week with great success and many positive attitudes toward the next generation of environmentally friendly vehicles.  To watch various live videos of the rally please follow this link and enjoy!  EVS Video

The second day of the Rally, 13 May, was a very long and difficult days for the vehicles.  The Explorer jeep finally had something over the others, and Icelandic New energy finally ended is forth seat in the entire hydrogen competition on day three and it is considered to be great results.  The rally has tested the limits of the environmental friendly cars which are still in development at a course that is designed for competition of specially designed vehicles.  The diversity of electric car designs attracted attention although most were custom designed electric sport cars. It is also worth mentioning that the electric vehicles took another route then the hydrogen vehicles staying solely on paved surfaces and for shorter distances so the results of the two vehicle types was not comparable.

On a final note, the rally took place in beautiful nature, sun and warmth the entire time. 

The EVS viking rally continued 13 May and Jón Björn Skúlason, General Director of Icelandic New Energy, came in 5th place.  The Ford Explorer driven by Jón Björn is the heaviest and biggest car in the race.  The vehicle grab the attention during the rally, earning 4th place in the accerleration and braking contest.  The FC-Ford Focus  was the contest‘s winner drive by the highly experienced rally driver, Henning Solberg.  Five out of twelve vehicles were taxied  from Langesend through Kristiansand to Lyngdal.  There are two issues that stand clear from the results of this rally.  It is clear that the Ford Explorer is being  greatly considered.   Much attention was directed toward Solberg driving the Think electric vehicle driving against a Tesla and the Think Electric vehicle was 3 second fasters.  Stay posted for more. 

The EVS Viking Rally began yesterday, May 11th, in Norway.  The drive is from Oslo to Stanvangurs that is approximately 700 km in length.  Electric vehicles are in the race but travel a shorter distance than the other cars.  There are 30 participants, including 15 hydrogen cars and 15 electric powered vehicles.  Hákon, the Prince of Norway also took part in Henning Solberg driving a Ford Focus that was sent from here to Norway.  Icelandic New Energy was driving the largest vehicle which was Fuel Cell Electric powered hydrogen Ford Explorer.  Jón Björn Skúlason, Directing Manager of INE, and Christopher „Toffen“ Kloed,  main technical advisor for the hydrogen refuelling station in Grótháls, agreed that it was an exciting experience to see how this type could perform in this type of setting.  Also participating on the first day of the rally was Jakop Sigurður Friðriksson (OR) and Þorsteinn I. Sigfússon (NMI).

Norwegians are taking big steps in developing  hydrogen distribution, and two hydrogen refuelling station will open  the first day of the rally, one in Oslo and the other in Drammen.   The first operating hydrogen station was in Porsgrunn. 

Jon Bjorn Skulason, General Manager of Icelandic New Energy, has been asked to give a presentation to participants in the EVS24 (The 24th International Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exhibition) rally on May 16th regarding the SMART-H2 (Sustainable Marine and Road Transport, Hydrogen in Iceland) project in Iceland. 

The EVS rally is a very exciting special four day event in which the Norwegian Minister of Transportation will start the EVS24 rally and HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway will be driving the first leg together with Henning Solberg, one of the most popular rally driver in Norway, with 20 cars on the 500 km hydrogen route plus 7 on the Battery EV route! See http://www.vikingrally.no/participants

• 144 scientific presentations are confirmed in the 24 parallel sessions and 305 scientific papers will be presented in the dialogue sessions.
• 5 plenary sessions with 30 keynote speakers.
• Awards will be handed out, like the “visionary city” award, the “best dialogue session presentation”, the “EVS24 Viking Rally” winners, the International Energy Agency’s.
• Almost 100 exhibitors from 40 countries will show the latest advance in technology, covering over 5000 m2 under one roof
• Mayors of Stavanger and Shenzhen City which will host the next EVS in China will meet World Electric Vehicle Association officials

Many participants from 40 countries (we are on the way to 800) have already registered for our great May 13th – 16th event in Norway!

In October 2008, Kutztown Middle School contacted Icelandic New Energy asking to provide assistance and suggestions describing a plausible futuristic city in Iceland that had been rebuilt after the economy collapsed in 2008.  The students wished for it to be a hydrogen economy using only renewable energy sources for power generation.  The Kutztown Middle School Future City Team competed at the regional Future City Competition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 24th, 2009 and placed 1st and will compete in Washington DC at the national level February 14th – 18th.  Best of luck Kutztown Middle School!   

The last weeks INE has been hosting international news agents and reporters. The BBC came in in July to make a documentary on the hydrogen projects. A documentary was also made by a French Tv crew for the show Thalassa, the program on issues of the sea at France 3. On top of that arte.tv visited the second week in September because the station is adressing the question of decreased access to pertroleum. Al Jazeera has also asked for an interview about the hydrogen and energy developments.  

It is quite evident that the world is still watching actions in the renewable sector and looking for more than one source of new fuel types.

The Fuel Cell cars have been photographed in varoius situations, here are some examples

- Dawn in Reykjavik November 2007.

Now four new publications in English are to be found on our web. Just klick on the blue links to get them up in a pdf form. Our brochure from April 2008 outlines what is currently going on, but gives also a short illustration of our former achievements. A newsletter outlining work during 2007 is a light version on the preparations of the SMART H₂ and what became of the Fuel Cell Buses. Then we recommend a publication based on Hjalti Pal's study from 2004 on the site selection for Hydrogen production in Iceland.

Yet another publication gives an overview of the energy expenditure of the fuel cell buses that were tested in ECTOS, CUTE and HyFLEET:CUTE. The article is written in Stockholm after a thorough analysis on this first generation of hydrogen fc buses and gives an insight into which technical parts can be developed further. Enjoy

"The Taming of the Proton" an overview of the progress of the integration of hydrogen world wide has been published. The author, Dr Thorsteinn Sigfusson celebrated the event at the University of Iceland in June 2008. About 300 friends and interested parties came to join the celebration and speakers were very supportive and proud of the success so far. Prof. Sigfusson was chairman of the board of Icelandic New Energy until 2004. We rejoice with Thorstein.

The book tells in a simple fashon about Thorstein's experience from working in the innovation and hydrogen field for more than a decade. He has met with most of the international promotrs of hydrogen and is one of the key founders of the International Platform for the Hydrogen Economy. Currently he is director of the Icelandic Innovation centre but he has been a go-between the University of Iceland, Innovation, intrepreneurial seed companies that are implementing new ideas, consultancy for the Icelandic government, and supporting innovative companies and energy innovations.

The book: The Taming of the Proton should be available for sale on the web.

During the launch of the hydrogen auxiliary unit on Elding (see below) many good guests came to celebrate the event with Icelandic New Energy. It is notable that the high north region (Norway, Shetland, Newfoundland, Iceland) has become conspicuous  in edgy  hydrogen projects.

Norway is running the Hy-Nor, presenting state of the art hydrogen stations and connecting Norway, Sweden and Denmark with hydrogen highways; Newfoundland presenting their Ramea diesel-wind-hydrogen project turning excess wind power hydrogen as buffer.  On Shetland the wind to hydrogen community projects are continuously progressing. At the same event a Ford focus vehicle was introduced in Reykjavik’s‘ traffic (3rd FC car, and the 13th hydrogen car in Reykjavik). A small hydrogen filling system was also opened at the fishing port in Reykjavik.

These centres cooperate for example through the NAHA and can share their experience whereas the conditions are similar as well as the local energy infrastructures. We are especially thankful to have hosted guests like Monika Kentzler, the HYFLEET:CUTE project manager from Germany, Duncan Macleod CEO of Shell Hydrogen, Scott Staley chief engineer of the fuel cell department of the Ford  car manufacturers, and Daniel Aklil from the Pure project. Also good friends such as Christoffer Kloed our former link with Hydro Electrolysers and Ulf Hafseld from HydroStatoil and Willy Dubno from Quantum. There were newcomers as well, such as representatives from H2 logic in Denmark and the hydrogen association in Sweden.  

It was fun to watch

On the 24th of April about 120 people gathered at the old fishing port in central Reykjavik. Sorry for late postings but the websystems have been updated and reconfigured.

The minister for environment, Mrs þórunn Sveinbjarnadóttir disconnected the hydrogen filling hose that was connected to the hydrogen storage on board Elding the whale safari boat, and announced that the ship's operation liscence is valid for everyday commercial use. The boat went out on sea as planned on a rather windy and cool morning with all guests on board. Outside the harbour the fuel cell system was displayed in silence. The showroom ithat informs the passengers is in place and the boat is back in regular operation.

The Elding company offered their whale watching vessel as a test-case for a hydrogen operations almost two years ago. Instead of replacing the main engine it was decided to start in a smaller measure and replace the auxilliary system that runs the navigation machinery, lights and other electric equipment on board. The energy system is made up of the following units: Small filling and storage equipment on the pier, fuel cell, batteries, electric monitoring system, compressed hydrogen storage, ventilation, exhaust pipes and security vents. It is Icelandic Hydrogen and Varmaraf that are responsible for the final design.

  For an outline of the SMART-H2 project go to the part on projects - current projects and SMART-H2.

The Fifth International Fuel Cell Bus Workshop will be held in Reykjavik, Iceland at the Park Inn Island Hotel from May 29 - 30, 2008.  To continue the success of the previous workshops, the event will feature posters of fuel cell bus demonstration projects from around the world in addition to roundtable discussions that will allow attendees to discuss critical industry issues. Now is your time to register posters for the event.

If you can imagine Iceland having a hot spot, Reykjavik is definitely it. The city of more than 100,000 people (in a nation of about 269,000) is Iceland's chief port, the center of its cod-fishing industry and its capital. Located in southwest Iceland, Reykjavik is the northernmost metropolis in the world.

Look at this announcement from the hosts.

Icelandic New Energy and the SUGRE project published a brochure regarding alternative fuel types and vehicle policy with special emphasis on fleet operators. The name of the brochure is ‘ Visthæfar samgöngur – Stefna og aðgerðir fyrirtækja’ and was distributed with the Icelandic Fiancial News (Viðskiptablaðið) this morning. Around 7000 Icelandic companies received the brochure (roughly 70% of all companies in Iceland). This brochure encourages companies to set an environmentally responsible transport policy. INE hereby urges companies all over the world to look into their fuel expenditure and support  bicycle-rides, car pooling etc. But if you must have service vehicles or use private cars then try to select those who emit little CO2. Keep in mind that in Reykajvik Hertz car-rental offers hydrogen vehicles for rent and they are also using conventional hybrids plus small diesil cars.

Hydrogen in the North Atlantic Area, research and demonstration.

The North Atlantic Hydrogen Association (NAHA) in cooperation with Icelandic New Energy Ltd. (INE) is hosting a conference in conjunction with NAHA´s annual meeting. In addition the hydrogen fuel cell equipment in marine surroundings will be inaugurated. The event takes the form of a celebration during April 23-24th 2008; the Thursday happens to be the First Day of Summer this year which is also Reykjavik’s Environment Day.

The conference held on April 23rd will focus on hydrogen opportunities, plans and activities in the North Atlantic Area and introduce recent hydrogen vehicle development. Special focus will be given to potential use of hydrogen in marine applications.

On Thursday the 24th there will be an inauguration event involving the press and the public at the harbour of Reykjavik (Miðbakka). The INE team will launch the first demonstration using hydrogen and fuel cells on a ship, the whale watching safari vessel Elding. The equipment is used as the main auxiliary power unit. All conference participants will be invited to the event, but alternative drive trains and fuel types will be on display for the public.

In the afternoon April 24th an Energy Excursion is offered for those interested to see key hydro- and geothermal power plants that will drive the production of hydrogen for a clean renewable economy in Iceland. Click on the links below for the agenda and registration.

Detailed agenda                                                        Registration

Note: The space available at the conference is quite limited, so early registration is recommended.

At the same time we will be inaugurating the fuel cell - hydrogen system on board the whale watching ship Elding. The system will be explained on board in a show room.  

Hydrogen in marine environment

The progress within the SMART-H2 has been excellent. Already 11 cars have been in service since 2007 and all running fine. The next step of the SMART-H2 project is to launch an auxiliary engine on board a whale whatching ship “Elding”. There will be an opening ceremony at the harbour of Reykjavik on April 24th 2008 when media and guests will be invited on the first trial run of using hydrogen on board a commercial vessel. In conjunction to the event the North Atlantic Hydrogen Association is hosting a mini conference the day before, April 23rd www.newenergy.is/naha . Details of the conference and agenda will follow shortly.

The event at the harbour will also be connected to environmentally friendly vehicles as car retailers will demonstrate variety of environmentally friendly vehicles. Guests will be offered to test drive hydrogen- and other vehicles.

Press release, Irvine, California, 07.08.07  

SMART-H2

10 Hydrogen Toyota Prius vehicles delivered to Icelandic customers

Previous successful hydrogen demonstration projects in Iceland have inspired VistOrka (the largest shareholder of Icelandic New Energy) to continue support for research and demonstration projects in Iceland. Already DaimlerChrysler has delivered one fuel cell vehicle to customers in Iceland and today Quantum handed over to VistOrka 10 hydrogen Toyota Prius vehicles.

The vehicles were delivered to VistOrka at a hand over ceremony in Irvine (California) today at Quantum´s headquarters. This is the largest step so far in the SMART-H2 (Sustainable Marine and Road Transport,- Hydrogen in Iceland) program launched earlier this year. The customers of the vehicles are energy companies, Orkuveita Reykjavikur (Reykjavik Energy), Landsvirkjun (National Power Company) and Hertz car rental. The participation of Hertz will for the first time in the world offer the public to access and use hydrogen vehicles. That is a very important step towards the future as public acceptance is an important factor in the creation of a new energy paradigm, i.e. the hydrogen society. The vehicles should be in full operation in Iceland by mid of October, 2007.

In the beginning of 2008 DaimlerChrysler will deliver the second fuel cell vehicle and the goal of the SMART-H2 is to increase the vehicle fleet to roughly 30 hydrogen powered vehicles by mid of 2009. This along with putting hydrogen out to sea, another feature of the SMART-H2 program will be the key steps into a hydrogen future based entirely on renewable energy.

Yesterday, the first hydrogen vehicle was handed over to the Icelandic power companies.  Peter Froschle and Monika Kentzler representing DaimlerChrysler handed the car over to Friðrik Sophusson CEO of Landsvirkjun and Guðmundur Þóroddsson the CEO of Reykjavík´s Energy.  The car is an A-Class fuel cell car, Mercedes Benz, and will be used by these two energy companies  in their service fleets.  This event was the first milestone of the SMART-H2 project and there will be more vehicles coming to Iceland in the following seasons.

Icelandic New Energy and EcoEnergy have decided to import more hydrogen cars of various types, both internal combustion engines and fuel cell cars.  At the event yesterday, which took place at the Pearl of Reykjavik, around 70 people gathered around to see the car and witness this historical moment, including the staff of Landsvirkjun, Reykjavik Energy and the Ministry of industry.

You can find the announcement from DaimlerChrysler here

Creating the worlds first hydrogen society

Next steps in Iceland

Icelandic New Energy is proud to announce the following:

For three years the Mercedes-Benz fuel cell buses which were introduced in 2003 and the hydrogen refuelling station were operated successful and safe. The hydrogen refuelling station has delivered over 20 tons of hydrogen, mostly to the buses but also for other hydrogen activities. The learning from the operation has been of high value to all partners and now its time to diversify and plan for pre-commercial activities. The Icelandic hydrogen team is launching the next learning phase towards a hydrogen future, the SMART–H2 (Sustainable Marine and Road Transport, Hydrogen in Iceland).

The SMART–H2 has three main paths; testing hydrogen passenger cars; designing and using fuel cell equipment as auxiliary power unit (APU) on board a ship and a research path based on the data collected in the bus project as well as the upcoming demonstrations.

VistOrka (a cooperation platform for hydrogen) will provides at least 3,5 million US$ to the SMART-H2, a project with the total budget of 7-8 million US$. The funding will be used to provide incentives for available hydrogen vehicles preferably fuel cell cars. VistOrka has also the intentions to evaluate other alternative fuel sources and vehicles, with the goal to have at least 30 hydrogen vehicles operating by mid-2009[1].

The fuel cell technology is progressing fast and it became evident in the bus project that the lifetime, efficiency and reliability have drastically improved.  The Icelandic team is convinced about the importance of fuel cells in transportation and as Professor Sigfusson, a board member of INE stated when awarded the prestigious Globe International Energy Prize for his research “I’m having a platonic love affair with hydrogen and fuel cells”.

As one of the next steps, Icelandic New Energy (INE) is preparing a project with fuel cell passenger vehicles. When introducing passenger vehicles the customer group will change and the requirements for service will be different from only providing hydrogen for buses. INE/Shell Hydrogen will offer hydrogen on a price that makes the fuel costs for driving a fuel cell car comparable to the costs that incur while driving a gasoline car. Within the SMART-H2 it is also intended to increase the availability of H2 in Reykjavik by adding dispensing locations.

The APU hybrid system for the ship is based on a fuel cell module developed by H2Logic in Denmark and will contain a Ballard fuel cell stack. It will be a 10-15 kW system installed on a whale watching vessel operating from Reykjavik. The system will be designed in Iceland and tested for 18 months with the goal of understanding the implications for a hydrogen system on the rough sea conditions in the North Atlantic.

The commitment of Iceland towards creating the first hydrogen society has reached new heights with the SMART-H2 project. The Icelandic team is convinced that hydrogen can be one of the key energy carriers coupled with extensive use of renewable energy in the future and this new initiative will bring Iceland into a pre-commercial hydrogen society.

For further information please contact:

                        Jón Björn Skúlaon, skulason@newenergy.is , +354-863-6510

  The North Antlantic Hydrogen Association has released it´s first newsletter, you can read the newsletter here.

North Antlantic Hydrogen Association

General Assembly 2007

Stavanger Norway

Agenda

Location: Statoil, Forus, IB-centre/visitor centre

Contact person: Brage Wårheim Johansen

September 6th 2007

09:00-12:30

1.      Election of Chair and Secretary of the General Assembly

2.      Annual report

3.      Approval of Annual accounts

4.      Action plan for the upcoming term

5.      Approval of budget plans for the coming year

6.      Announced matters

7.      Election of board members and auditor

8.      Other matters.

·         Research in the North Atlantic regions

o   Focus of joint projects between NAHA members

o   All NAHA member are invited to provide ideas for joint projects and introduce them at the meeting (if members want to do a presentation please inform the secritariat skulason@newenergy.is prior to the meeting. Each member should easily be provided with 10-15 minutes)

·         Joint research conference in Iceland 2008

9.      Approval of Minutes of Meeting.

12:30-13:30

Lunch

13:30-14:30

THINK – the Norwegian hydrogen hybrid vehicle (available from 2008)

Öysten Aspjell – THINK Norway

14:40-15:30

The hydrogen project in Stavanger & HyNor.

Brage Wårheim Johansen – Statoil

15:30-17:30

Tour of the hydrogen refuelling site in Stavanger and potentially ride and drive with a hydrogen vehicle.

On behalf of the NAHA secritariat,        

Jón Björn Skúlason

Icelandic New Energy (INE) was coordinator of an EU project (finalised in 2003) called EURO-HYPORT, one the objectives was too raise public awareness of the new hydrogen technology.  An animated educational CDROM disk was produced, with subtitles and narrator in English and Icelandic.  The disk shows how hydrogen is made from water and renewable energy sources, how a fuel cell works, hydrogen storage options and the chemistry behind the technology. The disk is called "Hydrogen - The ultimate Fuel" and is a very clear, short and simple multimedia film.

INE is currently applying to Nordiskkulturfond for a grant so that the material can be translated to all the Nordic languages, we have already contact with people in Greenland, Faroe Islands and Sweden, but we still need contacts, in Norway and Denmark.  If you can help then please contact  : maria.maack@newenergy.is

On July 19th the following editorial appeared in Morgunblaðið, one of Iceland's major newspapers (transl. by INE):

Jón Björn Skúlason, general manager of Icelandic New Energy, says in an interview with Morgunblaðið yesterday that the next steps of the hydrogen experiments are of two kinds. One is to bring hydrogen-powered cars here to be tested under Icelandic circumstances. The other is to put a hydrogen engine on board a boat.

Tests with hydrogen-run buses in Reykjavík have worked well. If people are serious about trying to make Iceland the first "hydrogen society" in the world, the next steps must be taken. If the conversion of Iceland's automotive and marine fleets to hydrogen is successful in the coming years and decades the benefits will be great, for each accounts for around 40% of the domestic oil consumption.

According to Skúlason, a larger financial contribution from the government is required for the next steps to be possible. Surely the government's policy, which aims at "further progress towards the hydrogenization of the nation," was created under the assumption that investments should be made in research projects which must be done in cooperation with foreign car- and engine manufacturers. Government support in Iceland needs to be sufficient so that the international companies who have worked with Icelanders until now do not turn elsewhere, to a country where the government is prepared to make a larger contribution.

Iceland is one of the few countries in the world with a real opportunity to create a hydrogen economy, due to our rich renewable energy sources which could be used to produce hydrogen by electrolysis. Among the benefits of hydrogenization would be a reduction in pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Iceland could gain a competitive advantage over economies which have to rely on oil, and the country's image as a land of purity and quality would be strengthened even further if the majority of consumed energy came from renewable sources. At least there would be considerable contrast to for instance Australia, where the government now predicts large increases in the export of coal, gas and oil in addition to more use of nuclear and solar power generation to satisfy the increasing energy demand of Asian countries such as India and China.

There are many reasons to continue on the course towards a hydrogen economy. However, certain basic questions arise over the issue, which the government needs to start finding answers to. It is estimated that the energy required for hydrogen production for the entire Icelandic transport system (automotive and marine) is close to the amount produced by the new Kárahnjúkar hydropower plant. Where should that energy come from? Should it come from hydropower or from geothermal power? Would a power plant for this purpose receive more public support than those built to provide electricity for industry? Could there be reason to use our energy resources rather for hydrogen production than for aluminium production? If the government is serious about its hydrogen implementation policy, then these and other questions must be answered.

Icelandic New Energy would like to thank Morgunblaðið for addressing such an important issue.

On the 11th and 12th of May the CUTE Congress was held in Hamburg to present the results of the CUTE project. The presentations are available online from the website www.cute-hamburg.de, through the link “Presentations.” The hydrogen busses have proved reliable in various climates and geographic situations. They are considered comfortable and are popular among passengers and drivers around the world. All participants were optimistic about the future of the technology. (photo: James Warren)

Here are a few presentations we particularly recommend:

Dr. Herbert Kohler, vice president of DaimlerChrysler: Making sustainable transport a reality – a carmakers view. One of the future goals is the “Diesotto” engine which combines the benefits of gasoline and diesel engines to improve the fuel efficiency, but of course car manufacturers are working on improvements for all types of drive technology.

On slide no. 12 he describes the improvements that will be built into the next generation of hydrogen drive technology. They include hybrid technology, a new type of electric motor, a drive at each wheel, and fewer hydrogen tanks. The busses will be lighter, more silent, and use far less fuel than the busses tested in Reykjavík and other cities. The fuel consumption is projected to be equivalent to 2.9 liters diesel per 100 km. The new prototype should be ready by 2008 and the cars should be in the market in 2012.

Dr Manfred Schuckert: What is CUTE. Includes all the statistics from all participating cities: Who participated, who drove furthes, kept the busses running longest, what malfunctions occurred, and the highlights in each city.

Jonas Strömberg and Maria Saxe, KTH, Stockholm: Bus operation – technical findings. Comparisons of the busses in different cities – the fuel efficiency in open road driving and city driving, the effects of temperature and humidity on fuel consumption, etc. Suggestions on how to save up to 50% fuel by better integrating the electrical systems of the bus with the fuel cell technology. Compared to other experimental busses running on gas, batteries, and biodiesel the hydrogen busses were the most successful, had the lowest malfunction frequency and the passengers were very pleased. However, the Swedish government aims to use waste from forests and agriculture to fuel the country’s transport system, so hydrogen bus experiments in Stockholm have been closed.

Georg Feltz, Director of AVL, Luxemburg: Operators perspectives on CUTE. The operation of the busses in Europe and what expectations do the bus companies have for the future – what impact does the cost of hydrogen technology have? What are acceptable prices of new hydrogen busses, maintenance and operating costs? The general expectation is that prices of busses will be higher than of diesel busses, the fuel consumption will be less, and maintenance costs will be similar.

Holgeir Grubel: The experience from running differnet types of hydrogen stations.  Analysis of the problems which arise in the operation of hydrogen fuel stations. Performance of the electrolyser stations was satisfactory, but in the gas-reforming stations problems arose with the purity of the hydrogen. The materials for the electrolysers must satisfy strict demands, as hydrogen, oxygen and lye at high pressures can corrode pipes and tanks, expecially at welding points. Auxiliary devices like compressors, pipes and lye tanks have been replaced in some stations, and you could say that improvements are needed more for the technology and operiation of the fuel stations than for the vehicles.

Marc Binder, PE Europe: Economic analysis of the CUTE H2 infrastructure: Current and future perspective. Marc shows that the cost of hydrogen systems are difficult to determine because it is highly dependent on the local conditions. He shows how operating costs are divided between construction, maintenance and operation. He also compares hydrogen produced on site by electrolysis and gas reforming and hydrogen from industry which is trucked to the fuel station. The price is very variable, but on average gas reformed hydrogen is the cheapest provided the gas price is under 0,10€ /kWh. If the price is between 0,10€ and 0,13€ the local circumstances dictate whether electrolysis or gas reforming is cheaper. He assumes the price of electricity is 0,10€/kWh, but obviously the price of electrolysed hydrogen is very dependent on the price of electricity. If electricity is cheaper electrolysis is a better option.

General Motors sent a delegation to Reykjavik to announce its goal of marketing hydrogen cars by 2010. GM invited reporters from media such as the Economist, eworld (online) and more. A pressure hydrogen vehicle, the GM HydroGen3 Fuel Cell Vehicle was offered for test driving in Reykjavik during the occation. On the picture you can recognise Mrs Valgerdur Sverrisdottir, minister of industry and commerce setting off. The car will only be in Reykjavik This time the car will only be in Reykjavik until Thursday afternoon.

It is with pride and pleasure that Icelandic New Energy hereby reports that a true supporter of the company, of all hydrogen applications, of applied hydrogen research and sound energy policy, professor Thorsteinn Sigfusson, former chairman of the board at INE, was awarded the prestigious Global Energy International Prize, 2007.

Please refer to: www.ge-prize.ru/en  

This was announced in Moscow April 18th and he accepted the prize on the 10th of June along with two other candiates.  Thorsteinn was selected from about one hundred nominations from the academics of the Russian Academy of Science. The prize is to award and support his outstanding research on hydrogen and energy as well as international leadership. Professor Thorsteinn  Sigfusson has for a decade supported all hydrogen initiatives with his relentless  work capacities,  incredible alertness and innovative spirit towards new hydrogen ideas, not only in Iceland but on an international basis.

It is also worth mentioning that the IPHE or International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy held their Forum in Moscow in February 2007 and on that occasion, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation rewarded Dr Sigfusson for his efforts but now he has also received the most prestigious energy award as well.  (News on the former event can be found on:  http://www.iphe.net/IPHE%20Update%20April%202006.pdf )

One recent news report is now visible on the web. Try the link:

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3033509

A GenCore stationary hydrogen fuel cell is currently undergoing a reliability test at the Int. airport in Keflavik the 20th of Dec 2005. The fuel cell comes from Plug Power, USA and Logan Energy monitors the project while INE is their assistent in Iceland. The hydrogen for the cell is produced at the hydrogen station in Reykjavik and transported in pressure tanks to the facility. During the inauguration the minister of foreign affairs, Mr Geir H Haarde gave a speach. Then all attendants went out into the rain and wind to start the cell.

If you happen to pass through the airport in Keflavik then notice a light-sign that flashes up on the front wall in the morning between 6.30 and 7.00 and in the evening between 23.00 - 24.00. It says H2 clean energy. - The background is that the first stationary fuel cell in Iceland is now undergoing a 12 month reliability test. It is supposed to start up 2 times a day in any conditdions. Instead of just registering invisibly to computer far away,  the electricity it produces also connects to a strong beamer that flashes up on the front. This project is a joint venture between INE and partners in the USA.

The latest dates for the intensive seminars are: 9th December - 13th January 06 - 3rd February 06 - 24th February 06 - 17th March 06

As a response to high demand for information, company visits and increasing interest about the hydrogen initiatives the relevant parties at the University of Iceland and Icelandic New Energy have organized seminars and study visits about the integration of hydrogen into the Icelandic society. Intensive seminars for energy experts and business related guests is offered in collaboration with the University of Iceland, which has a long history in hydrogen research and lab-tests. The offer includes: introduction to the international and local energy scenarios, international collaboration, socio-economic aspects, future hydrogen undertakings lunch and an ‘energy excursion’ during the afternoon including hydrogen demonstrations and visit at H-station. See further information here.

Icelandic New Energy has pictures and educational multimedia content for sale! All the pictures that you see in our web based picture gallery are available for purchase. The pictures are available in very high quality and resolution and cost 200 Euros each.

We also have a very good quality interactive multimedia presentation on hydrogen, in English and Icelandic. This audio-visual presentation is suitable for ages 8 to 88 and covers in a clear and understandable manner the connection between water, energy and hydrogen. It shows how hydrogen is made from water and renewable energy sources, how a fuel cell works, hydrogen storage options and the chemistry behind the technology. The presentation is in the form of a flash movie, and comes with information on how to install and run. See screenshots from the movie here. Price: 50 Euros. Enjoy!

Contact maria.maack@newenergy.is if you wish to purchase either a picture (be sure to state the filename which appears in the picture browser in the gallery) or the multimedia presentation. Please state your full name and billing address. We will send the product file(s) to you via email and an invoice to your billing address.

Note: You will need an email account capable of receiving large files (One 10Mb zip file for the multimedia presentation).

On the 30th of July thirteen Icelandic teachers and technicians will travel to Aalen in Germany to attend a seminar on hydrogen technology.

The seminar will thoroughly cover fuel cells; how they function and how they are made etc. Futhermore their utilisation in electrical systems will be compared to diesel generators. The group will also go on field trips to factories that are currently developing hydrogen vehicles and other factories that utilize hydrogen for their production.

The 2 week trip is partially funded by a Leonardo exchange programme. Hopes are high that Icelandic industrial students will reap the benefits of this journey in the long run as the teachers on this trip can familiarize themselves with the hydrogen fuel cell buses maintenence and how hydrogen is produced at INE's hydrogen filling station in Grjótháls, Reykjavík.

Visits during last month were noticed in the world press. The president of India came for an official visit. He is very interested in energy matters and therefore hosted a dinner with selected experts and researchers within various fields. Prof Thorstein Sigfusson was one of these selected guests and Jon Bjorn Skulason a second one.

During the visit the delegation had a ride in one of the hydrogen buses and visited the hydrogen station.

The picture is taken at the hydrogen station at Grjótháls. In the background there are the managers for Icelandic New Energy, Mr Jón Björn Skulason to the left and the Icelandic New Venture Fund, INE’s largest share holder, to the right Mr Gunnar Örn Gunnarsson. In the front to the left we see the distinguished guest of honour the president of Inda Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and to the right the president of Iceland Mr Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson.