Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.06.2007, Page 4

06_REYKJAVÍK_GRAPEVINE_ISSUE 07_007_INTERVIEW/ENVIRONMENT
Þorsteinn Sigfusson is Professor of Physics at
the Science Department of the University of
Iceland. Sigfusson, who currently chairs Ice-
landic New Energy Ltd. (a promoter for using
hydrogen as a fuel in the transportation sector
in Iceland), has been leading the effort of brin-
ging Iceland to becoming the world’s first hyd-
rogen economy. Sigfusson holds a Knighthood
for his work and was also recently awarded
(along with a British and Russian scientist) a
Russian “mini-Nobel Prize” energy award for
his pioneering research on hydrogen, to be
presented by President Putin in St. Petersburg
on June 9th. A Grapevine journalist sat down
with Sigfusson to discuss the award and the
state of hydrogen technology in Iceland.
Note: This interview was conducted just
prior to the recent elections and therefore
any reference to the government is referring
to the now former government.
You won the award together with two
others. How does that work?
The official explanation is that Professor Sigfus-
son gets it for the research and development of
hydrogen as an energy carrier and the impact
in Iceland and the world. The two other scien-
tists get it for different things. There’s no use
to mention it but they also bring the size of
the prize to the same level of the Nobel Prize.
We’re talking about 37 million ISK for my part
– it’s an amazing thing for a scientist. Halldór
Laxness of course won the [Nobel] prize in ’52,
that was a similar thing, and he bought himself
a Jaguar car. I’ve been joking that I will try to
get a hydrogen powered Jaguar.
What is Iceland’s place in the world in the
area of hydrogen?
I would start by telling you that in the course
of the 20th century Iceland gradually displaced
a lot of fossil fuels from its portfolio. It for
example displaced the use of coal for heating
houses in Reykjavík in the period after the
Second World War and right now the use
of renewables is about 72% of the whole
country’s portfolio – which is the highest in
the world. Next is New Zealand with 57%. So
the fact that we have to import our oil and
gasoline to Iceland – there’s no coal import
anymore – for the transport sector, fishing
fleet and now airplanes is a question of lack
of security of delivery of fuels so there’s been
quite an interest in Iceland to try to replace this
with domestically produced fuels.
What options do we have? Iceland is a
rather cold country so bio-fuels à la Brazil are
not really in the picture here but there is a well
known possibility to split water using electricity
– its called electrosis – and make hydrogen and
we started doing that at the beginning of the
new millennium. We started Icelandic New
Energy Ltd as a spin off from the University of
Iceland. The aim of Icelandic New Energy was
to help to create a hydrogen energy society.
We started by setting up a hydrogen fuelling
station and gathering a lot of experience for
the world market. For example, when we first
got the [hydrogen] buses in 2003 the sensitive
hydrogen system could not withstand frost, but
now these systems can go to -20°C so a lot
of learning has been provided for the world
from here.
Are there any plans for any more [hydro-
gen powered] buses?
The buses will be ready in I think 2009. Da-
imler Chrysler is expecting a new generation
of buses where they have used the learning
curve from here and elsewhere to improve
the systems.
You might also want to know about the
sort of work I’ve been doing in Iceland on hyd-
rogen. I defined something I called geo-thermal
hydrogen. So it’s the link between geothermal
energy and hydrogen which has been the con-
tent of my own research. For example, I have
been extracting hydrogen out of geothermal
gases. I have been using a geothermal system
to power a hydrogen compressor and things
like that and my graduate students have been
quite active with me in this realisation. So this
would be my own unique contribution to the
old science.
So, what does it take to make hydrogen
cars produced or available to people on
a mass scale? How is this going to take
place?
I would say that we are probably today in a si-
milar position as the makers of the combustion
automobile engine in 1907. It’s a technology
in its infancy and the cost of making these
things needs to be reduced a lot. To give you
an example, our kind of benchmark is the cost
of producing a diesel or gasoline engine which
is about $35 per kilowatt. Now our cost of
producing a hydrogen engine is unfortunately
maybe five times higher and this needs to be
gradually reduced and the market will not
accept this until we have a competitive price.
[...]. But you know, countries or civilizations will
need generations to change the fuel base and
in the last century we for example changed
the energy system twice. First in the 1920s
to hydro-electric power and then in the post
World War II period to geothermal. I think
the first half of this century will be devoted
to alternative energies replacing oil.
There’s been a shift in focus in the discus-
sion on the environment. In the past, hydro-
gen-electrical and geothermal power was the
focus but in recent months the focus has been
on reducing the direct impact of humans [eg.
carbon emissions and waste disposal]. Why has
it taken this long for that shift to take place?
There were two things that motivated our
work in hydrogen. One was energy security
or insecurity with the import of oil and gas
and the foreseen limit of availability of oil on
Earth. The second is the situation with the at-
mosphere – the emissions. Actually, Iceland by
converting the car fleet to hydrogen we would
reduce our carbon emissions dramatically. So
right now Icelanders are probably spewing out
11 tonnes of CO² per capita per year whereas
the OECD average is maybe 7. America’s is of
course the dirtiest – it’s maybe 23 tonnes per
capita per year. If we could get the [car] fleet
over to hydrogen – and the fishing fleet – we
would probably go down by more than half,
so it would be dramatic.
But, with the fishing fleet – is that somet-
hing that is realistic? Obviously you would
need a new fleet?
That’s an excellent question because running
the fishing fleet [on hydrogen] is going to
require a lot of infrastructure investment – yes.
And the old trawlers will last for almost [anot-
her] 40 years so we have to assume that such
a transition will have to take a long time and
then another problem with hydrogen is that
it is very difficult to compress in the same
way as say diesel. It requires a lot of volume.
It’s like the same volume of a gasoline tank
using hydrogen gases will only lead to a third
of the range.
But, has it been done before [converting
fishing boats to hydrogen]?
Yes, I tell you what, the Russians have even
tried hydrogen on airplanes. Boats – yes, it
has sort of been done in limited experiments.
There are submarines in Germany that run on
hydrogen. And, in one year from now Icelandic
New Energy will be working with hydrogen in a
whale watching boat. The whale watching boat
will be installing a partial hydrogen system. So
when you are on the [whale watching] spot
you can shut off the main engine and run on
a quiet battery-like hydrogen system.
The discussion on hydrogen has been on-
going for some time. What’s new and why
do you focus on it?
I see the present energy system on Earth as
something we have inherited from some stone
age and burning these hydro-carbons as we
do is not the sustainable way of treating Earth
so I realise that a fuel which is renewable, like
hydrogen, is necessary to break this vicious
circle that humankind is in. But at the same
time I realise that it is going to be very difficult
– there are no patent solutions. This is quite
a challenge and this is why I am interested in
it. It’s a challenge from many points of views
– societal, scientific... we are looking towards
a paradigm shift. A paradigm shift in energy,
in fuels on Earth has not taken place. In the
whole history of humankind we’ve been bur-
ning things and we go to the hydrogen thing
it’s a different story all together.
New things happening? Well, what I could
tell you is that if the government of for example
the US had the same vision for hydrogen as
they had for the moon race – they simply
defined a goal and put more money into it
– we would solve this thing in five years. So
my message to you is that we need some sort
of a moon race for hydrogen.
Leading up to the elections, many of the
parties have a green agenda. Do you think
this is going to continue [after the elec-
tions]?
Yes, I think so because I think environmental
discussions are here to be. It’s an amazing
transition that has taken place. When I started
talking about the need for this towards the
end of the 20th century, some of the advisors
of our government said “Well, we don’t really
believe in this man-made CO² thing – is it real?”
and you don’t hear these views anymore. But
there were advisors to our ministers who cla-
imed this. It was amazing and actually these
voices were fuelled by I think some of the
oil companies who really thought that they
would be in a better position if they put some
doubt into the whole discussion. Last year the
secretary of the Royal Society in London sent
a very harsh letter to the CEO of Exxon Mobil
US saying that it was shameful to notice that
Exxon Mobil had been supporting funds to
spread this doubt.
Maybe you can’t really compare it... but it
sounds a bit like the story of tobacco.
No, [...] I was at a conference last year and this
analogy was taken. And what is the situation
with tobacco’s health these days? Zero doubt.
So, this is the world we live in.
Hydrogen (Brain) Power
Text by Zoë Robert Photo by Leó Stefánsson
I see the present energy
system on Earth as some-
thing we have inherited
from some stone age and
burning these hydro-car-
bons as we do is not the
sustainable way of trea-
ting Earth so I realise that
a fuel which is renewable,
like hydrogen, is neces-
sary to break this vicious
circle that humankind is
in.
GR
EE
N
Drífa ehf, Sudurhraun 12 C, 210 Gardabaer, Iceland, Tel +354-555 7400, Fax +354-555 7401, icewear@icewear.is
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