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Reykjavik: The challenge of a domestic
source for transport energy
With its geographical location
and geological situation, Iceland
naturally has a geothermal heat flux, combined with rain and snow, which allow
for geothermal and hydroelectric harnessing. However, transport, fishing and
industry still emit about 11 tonnes of CO2 per capita per year and
require oil and gasoline imports. In order to tackle the problems of pollution
and energy supply, the ministry of Industry and Commerce appointed a committee
on “Domestic Fuel Production” in 1997. With a strong support and clear
political leadership from the national government, a joint venture called
Icelandic New Energy was set up to investigate the potential for eventually
replacing the use of fossil fuels in Iceland with “hydrogen based fuels” and
create the world’s first hydrogen economy.
Three key projects on hydrogen
were launched: fuel cell bus demonstrations (ECTOS), fuel cell passenger
vehicles pilots, and fuel cell fishing vessel demonstrations. The ECTOS project
(2001-2005) is run in cooperation with the CUTE project and aims at creating
and integrating hydrogen infrastructure into the existing urban setting in Reykjavik. The CUTE
(Clean Urban Transport for Europe)
project, funded by the European Commission, involves 9 European cities (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Porto, Stockholm, and Stuttgart)
aiming to introduce hydrogen in public transport systems.
Hydrogen is produced through an
on-site electrolyser using renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen
and oxygen. After that, hydrogen is stored in a compressor and delivered
directly on to vehicles in a gaseous form. The first demonstration buses
started to run in October 2003. They can drive 200 to 250 km at a maximum speed
of 80 kph. Hydrogen can be transported by truck in a gas or liquid form. The
project is currently investigating the impact
of transforming hydrogen at each location. In addition, the use of hydrogen for
fishing vessels is in demonstration. Another project is looking at how to
extract hydrogen from geothermal gases. Geothermal heat could also provide
energy for high temperature electrolysis of water. One of the main challenges
today, remains the storage of hydrogen.
Iceland is investigating the
possibilities to export hydrogen to the European continent. The Icelandic
government is conducting studies to analyse the economic and social cost of
hydrogen infrastructure and the pros and cons of a fully developed
infrastructure for the hydrogen economy.
Stockholm: Creating a market for
alternative fuelled vehicles
In the
framework of the CIVITAS Trendsetter project, the city of Stockholm is investigating how to create a
market for alternative fuelled vehicles (AFVs).
Currently, the high cost of such vehicles, the inadequate infrastructure,
national barriers, the lack of incentives, and the low acceptance of users are
main obstacles for an alternative fuelled vehicles market. The city of Stockholm has set the target that by 2006,
at least 4% of all new vehicles should be AFVs, 60%
of all vehicles used by the city should be AFVs, and
that AFVs should be fuelled by 80% of alternative
fuels.
The city of Stockholm has
been involved in numerous projects promoting the procurement of AFVs, such as ZEUS, Trendsetter, and HECTOR. These projects
aim to develop the infrastructure for alternative fuelled vehicles, to buy a
large quantity of these vehicles, to create a market, to raise the awareness of
sustainable transport, and to develop new intermodal
transport facilities. Around 350 vehicles were bought within the ZEUS project
and the prices of the vehicles were reduced by 25 to 50%. 3000 ethanol cars
were bought and the number of fuelling stations doubled. Within the Trendsetter
project on clean vehicle procurement, 1700 biogas, electric-hybrid, ethanol
cars and vans are bought per year over a 4-year period. Prices are reduced by 4
to 18%. In addition, these projects have contributed to opening the market for
electric vehicles, and to foster the development of the required
infrastructure. Currently, the city of Stockholm is
developing the HECTOR project (Heavy Vehicles for Sustainable City Transport).
The goal is to have at least two established vehicle manufacturers offer
standardised city buses and regional buses that can be operated on ethanol, by
the end of the project period. Another aim of the project is to buy 2000 buses
within a 3 to 5 years period.
These experiences show that common
procurement is essential to reduce the price of AFVs,
to introduce new technologies, to help develop new infrastructure and to reduce
technical and economic risks. Along with common procurement, it is also
necessary to encourage the use of clean vehicles through incentives such as
free parking for AFVs, free access in restricted
zones, and through the promotion of clean vehicles in private companies. In
order to further increase the public acceptance of AFVs,
the city of Stockholm offers
citizens the opportunity to borrow an AFV for free. In January 2004, there were
around 2500 AFVs in greater Stockholm.
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